Problems of Progress

Yesterday, I posted a podcast with Ethereum cofounder Anthony D’Onofrio. As he ate gummy bears and dropped f-bombs, D’Onofrio brought up the exact topic of today’s essay: Problems of Progress.

Crypto rolls in waves. Progress will be slow and thoughtful during bear markets, but then everything grows like crazy and new players come in during the bull markets.

This growth is good for crypto awareness, but bull markets often invite bad actors. Jonathan Haidt, author of Coddling of the American Mind, would call this bs Problems of Progress — and they exist in every industry and all of our personal lives too.

Whenever there is progress, there are problems. But, when problems of progress are overcome, there is more progress (and more problems). The cycle continues.

You can either be a Luddite and resist technological change or just accept that life is full of challenges. They are inescapable. There is no utopia.

I’ve made a list of 12 Problems of Progress on topics ranging from my personal life to monetary policy in the 17th century. Where applicable, I’ve also included the solutions, which of course create their own problems of progress.

1. I’m moving in with my girlfriend in New York. This is huge progress, but we’ve certainly faced some issues. Did you know girls don’t like it when you don’t clean up after you shave? I learn new things everyday.

2. As I’ve progressed on Twitter, I’ve struggled with getting off my phone. I’ve had to double down on digital minimalism, touching grass, and airplane mode.

3. When new advancements in textile machinery threatened factory workers’ jobs in 1800s England, a group of workers known as the Luddites destroyed a bunch of machines. Much like the anti-Elon SpaceX employees, they were soon not welcome at their workplaces.

4. As Jack Butcher grew his design firm Visualize Value, he was overwhelmed by all the design requests. Instead of working more hours or hiring a large staff, he began selling products and courses and limiting his client selection.

5. As the internet grew, spam grew exponentially — leading to massive advancements in Natural Language Processing (NLP) in AI.

6. Although advancements in AI is exciting, its led to issues regarding deepfakes.

7. I love texting as much as anyone, but distracted driving led to 2,800+ deaths in the US every year since 2010. Should we have stayed with the telegram?

8. As I wrote about in Fuck You Time, remote work is progress, but it comes with its own sets of challenges regarding work-life balance and mental health.

9. While online dating apps have brought countless couples together, it’s also created issues around mental health, harassment, and assault.

10. When Amsterdam was growing economically in 1609, traders were using 1,000+ types of coins from around the world. This inefficiency led to confusion and counterfeits, eventually leading Amsterdam to charter a public bank.

11. The United States expansion in the 19th century led to immense financial success — and the Trail of Tears.

12. World War II was put to an end by a scientific breakthrough: the nuclear bomb.

There is no progress without problems. Like washing the dishes or picking up dog poop, problems keep coming on a non-stop conveyor belt.

As crypto is getting brutally wrecked right now, I’m relying on this quote.

You don’t want to be a candle afraid of the wind. You want to be a bonfire, hoping for the wind to come and make you stronger. Taleb calls this being antifragile: getting stronger through disorder and challenges.

Let’s hope crypto is antifragile. I have a feeling it is.