As a mathematician, when i told colleagues over the last 18 months that I was pouring tons of energy and time into building a game, they often responded with some sort of mix of "oh that's cute, but surely it's not as important as math research." I knew they were wrong, and would be increasingly wrong in the future, so I pressed on.
My thesis since about 2024 has been that creating novel environments for "voluntary attempts to overcome unnecessary obstacles" (this is as good a definition of a *game* as one might ask for) will be one of the most important tasks going forward, as ai continues to eliminate more and more obstacles and accordingly strips away more and more of the rewards/understanding/feelings of joy of overcoming obstacles. I dont care how you feel about ai. It's great and it's bad, many things are like this, it's not complicated. If you dont see this dynamic with the removal of obstacles and the effects it's having on people, and the needs that will create, then you do not have eyes.
I took huge risks to make this game, have deliberately winded down research in pure math, have turned down many opportunities (and just closed off the last ones to ensure that the game is all that I focus on pushing as far as i can), and believe that I will be proven right about this bet.
Last week, one math colleague who used to lightly dismiss the game and want to only talk math essentially asked me for a job. Games that bring back understanding and push people in original ways are the future.
Vu hier soir #LaBatailleDeGaulle
Et pour ne pas faire original, j'ai beaucoup aimé.
Lâché quelques petites larmes de ci de là au fil des aventures héroïques de cette poignée de fous qui a sauvé l'honneur de la France.
Foncez le voir au cinéma : c'est du GRAND spectacle.
Personal news: we’re launching Re7’s $10M crypto social fund. Writing first checks to founders re-architecting how creators & devs get paid.
I'm thrilled to partner with @evgeny_re7 & the @Re7Capital team who keep setting the bar for what the future of institutional capital can look like in crypto.
For more, read the article below.
How to make Europe a tech powerhouse:
1. No capital gains tax on exit money that you reinvest in early stage companies. This would allow huge amounts of capital from founders who exited to go into new startups. It creates a virtuous cycle where founders who were successful enable new founders to access capital from people who actually built companies.
2. Allow new companies to ask for a government ruling on whether they are compliant with current regulation, and have that ruling apply for 5 years. This will allow companies to build without having to worry about regulatory uncertainty and instability, which is by far the worse possible thing for entrepreneurs.
That's it. Just let us build in peace and invest in other founders and we'll create massive companies in space, fusion, bio, AI, blockchain, semiconductor, robotics, medical, defense and everything else.
MEGA!
Great founders don’t seek stability; they seek fluidity, a system where things move fast, where people make decisions without waiting for permission, and where uncertainty isn’t a blocker but a driver of momentum.
https://t.co/PYGZGRB8YV