At times like these, it’s worth considering the words of Carl Sagan.
Pale Blue Dot
Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every “superstar,” every “supreme leader,” every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there–on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.
Sitting in rural Victoria, sky obscured by bushfire smoke, I am reminded that I have said [and written] many times, that climate and energy transitions are the greatest challenges of our [and our children’s children] time. It would appear most of the Federal Government disagrees with me.
What are the arguments against a more sustainable future? What are the arguments against using reason and logic?
M.I.T wunderkind Alex Fridman [ @lexfridam ] reflects on the work, life and times of Elon Musk [ @elonmusk ] during an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience [ @joerogan ].
Fridman on Musk
Research
Lex Fridman’s assessment of Tesla vehicles delivered and Autopilot miles driven can be found here. Worth thinking about in the context of the true innovation and exponential changes we will witness in the decade of the 2020’s.
A small series of posts over the next week or so on the concept of “Type 1″.
These will be People, Planet and Challenges.
Why? Simply put, my recent experience of public discourse and political debate in Australia (and those seeking public office) suggests we need to look closely for genuine intellectual honesty, strategic vision and coherent world views that can be anticipated through reason and defended with logic.
Complex social, economic and environmental responses are not and will not be served by simple allegiances to a particular tribe or system of patronage. The challenges of the 21st Century are far too complex for political structures and habits of “magical thinking” established hundreds/thousands of years ago.
Today, People.
The Enneagram of Personality, or simply the Enneagram is a [contested] model of the human psyche which is principally understood and taught as a typology of nine interconnected personality types.
The 9 types of people it describes are: the reformer, helper, achiever, individualist, investigator, loyalist, enthusiast, challenger, and peacemaker.
Whilst not a devotee of such frameworks, due to the conflicting/contradictory evidence available, it is nonetheless a ‘fun’ and accessible way to introduce my series on “Type 1” to you dear reader, thus appropriating one of the more widely known [if not justified] frameworks for discussion.
Consider two Billionaires. “Leaders” in their fields. Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Given the very public developments of the major companies of these two, I would contend that only one of these is a ‘type 1’.
Bloomberg business writer and author of the Biography Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, And The Quest For A Fantastic Future appears to agree with me when he says:
“He’s the possessed genius on the grandest quest anyone has ever concocted. He’s less a C.E.O. chasing riches than a general marshaling troops to secure victory. Where Mark Zuckerberg wants to help you share baby photos, Musk wants to … well … save the human race from self-imposed or accidental annihilation.”
The nature and degree to which “traditional business models” have evolved in the post-internet era hardly needs comment. Suffice to say, that inherent in every business that ever was or will be, is the core business.
To create, Innovate, grow and profit.
A matrix of every business over time would show that they could reasonably be described in a series of the oft-maligned yet useful intersecting venn diagrams showing a combination of one or more of these four goals.
Opposing goals, purpose or core businesses, however you wish to define them, still requires your business to make sense in that euphemistic 30 second elevator ride…How will we: create, Innovate, grow and profit
Often misunderstood [in my view, not in a positive way] one early quoted purpose from Zuckerberg was “Move fast and break things”.
Essential if profit is the goal, yet I am challenged to understand how this will serve the longer term goals of creating/innovating and growing long-term assets and value. Except for the owner.
We can see through recent US congressional hearings and wider reporting, the business model of the “user” being the “product” appears to have far-reaching political, social and psychological side-effects that are only now [sadly] becoming clearer to regulators and policy makers.
Mark has broken a lot of things lately and it appears many are part of a global social experiment they know very little about.
[Anthony Quintano from Honolulu, HI, United States [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]
As equally ill-defined and misunderstood is Musk.
Misunderstood if one ignores his stated purpose. “We created Tesla to accelerate a sustainable future”. Misunderstood if one uses the traditional metrics to define/interpret/anticipate business strategy and ignore the engineer, focussed on first-princples, standing in plain sight.
The purpose of Tesla: – In his own words.
Exciting to see all the new electric vehicles coming to market! We created Tesla to accelerate a sustainable future & it’s happening!https://t.co/IqREiDqIyL
[Source: Maurizio Pesce from Milan, Italia [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]
Last week I listened to the excellent podcast by Ark Invest, interviewing Elon Musk about Tesla Cars and autonomy. Whilst extremely insightful and informative, this interview also displayed, as plainly as possible, the main premise of “Type 1”. Listen carefully to this podcast. It is thirty minutes well spent. Indeed, Musk, in his own words
“People think sometimes that I’m like a business person or finance person, or something like that. I’m an engineer. I do engineering, always have.” — @elonmusk [0:12:33]
Ark Invest Podcast
As environmental, economic and social challenges persist on a global scale, many struggle with complexity, nuance and focus in the face of apparent existential risk.
One business seeks to “Move fast and break things”, creating increasingly atomised networks of personal echo-chambers, devoid of any discernible purpose other than keeping your attention. This is a a business where the “users” and their personal habits, actions and details are the “product”.
The second business seeks to improve the long-term viability of the human race by accelerating the adoption of sustainable energy and even prodvide [the once entirely science-fiction goal] of an “off-world “alternative.
Type Ones have a “sense of mission” that leads them to want to improve the world in various ways, using whatever degree of influence they have. They strive to overcome adversity—particularly moral adversity—so that the human spirit can shine through and make a difference. They strive after “higher values,” even at the cost of great personal sacrifice.
A type one person –
… is conscientious and ethical, with a strong sense of right and wrong. They are teachers, crusaders, and advocates for change: always striving to improve things, but afraid of making a mistake. Well-organized, orderly, and fastidious, they try to maintain high standards, but can slip into being critical and perfectionistic. They typically have problems with resentment and impatience. At their Best: wise, discerning, realistic, and noble. Can be morally heroic.
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