Silicon Valley Tribalism: The Elon Musk Complex

Recently, a friend of mine said that his resolution for the next decade (although the next decade will be in 2021 according to the Gregorian calendar) is to have children and an exit for his startup. He added, though, that it’s very modest resolution compared to Elon Musk’s. That statement made me think that actually Elon Musk accidentally introduced to ambitious entrepreneurs a completely new benchmark.

Now it’s not enough to build a profitable business or even a multi-billion dollar company. The new benchmark is to do all of the above and colonize new planets, build new types of transportation, technology that would merge humans with machines, and build sustainable energy technology along with electric vehicles and solve the AGI problem. 

Who can beat that benchmark and, more interestingly, what would a new benchmark look like? Occupation of the entire galaxy, a full scientific explanation of what consciousness is, bioengineered human-machines who can live more than thousands of years and never get sick and old, commoditized quantum computing, and accessible telepathic communication. What else?

The more you think about it, a so-called ‘Elon Musk complex’ might arise. Whatever your resolution for New Year’s is and for the next decade, it would not be ambitious enough.

Let’s give this deeper thought. When you wake up in the morning having just opened your eyes how would you prove that the entirety of humanity still exists? What is the proof that humanity hasn’t died from a meteorite or a random disease while you were peacefully sleeping? 

When you are in bed, staring at the ceiling, humanity, the planet, situations in your work and personal life are all just concepts in your mind which may or may not exist. It’s kind of like the Schrodinger’s cat thought experiment. Then you pick up your phone, read emails, watch the news – those concepts become ‘reality’, though they are still concepts in your mind and have nothing to do with reality. 

What I’m trying to convey is that everything is illusory. It’s all just animation that your brain creates. 

Who says that the work that Musk does is more important or significant than that of a janitor? Maybe from a universal perspective and through a ‘butterfly effect’ the work of janitors has a far greater impact on the world.

If we really don’t know the real sequence of cause and effect, then why is it necessary to stress out? Wouldn’t it be healthier to be honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses, available resources and opportunities and have goals that are foreseeably achievable without feeling guilty that it won’t beat ‘Musk’s benchmark’?

Full disclosure: I also suffer from ‘Musk complex’.