The banality of transcendence

I remember noticing this when I got my first real job: people who felt the need to tell you that they were working in the best company, in the hottest sector. My first boss used to tell us this earnestly, and he was always a bit deflated that I’d often smirk or laugh. It was not that I thought that other companies were better or other sectors hotter, it was just that it was such a big claim to make, and so unnecessary.

It’s not uncommon, taking the trouble to justify that you are at the top of the pyramid and your judgement is unimpeachable. During the promotion of his movie Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan said that Oppenheimer had been the most important man ever to live¹. Poor Nolan, why is he so eager to impress? Does he think his movie about the most important man who ever lived, is therefore the most important movie ever made?

The current crop of the techno-millionaires don’t just want to top the pyramid, they want to transcend it. Extra-atmospheric commercial flight, plans to land on Mars, and lavish funding for life extension.
Intractable problems like energy or water or pandemics are just not challenging enough to retain their attention.
These men are surely the most important magnates ever to live.

There’s a talk I like by Maciej Ceglowski: Barely succeed! It’s easier!², where he talks about the problems with the model of tech startups. Part of it is the need for wild growth prospects in order to attract investors and money. He has been running a tech business by himself that has been turning a profit, and in the talk he gives a few examples of other people or small businesses that have done the same. The talk is not technical, and it is terrifically humorous and smart. He says in the beginning:

I want to convince you today that if you’re willing to work hard and if you’re willing to follow your dreams and not be intimidated, you too can find success within your mildest dreams.

The movie Late Spring³ has been in my mind today as a sort of antidote to all the grand standing. It is difficult to find a simpler film, and impossible to find one that is better. It’s among a small collection of movies I’d show to alien visitors to explain to them what it is to be a human being, alive on earth.
Which is no small thing.