Brenden Matthews

John Maynard Keynes coined the term “animal spirits” to describe the human emotions that drive consumer confidence. In the age of AI hype, we see new animal spirits emerge as we lose connection with reality and all cheer for a new algorithmically driven future of generated clickbait, crappy art, incorrect “facts”, and a flood of low-quality content.

It’s worth discussing the difference between growth and grind mindsets. Growth is the process of learning, improving, and evolving–ideally in an upward trajectory. Conversely, grind is working hard, often to the point of exhaustion or burnout. The former is aspirational; the latter is…something else. I think most people are taught to grind rather than grow.

Anyone who’s worked in computers for any amount of time has likely experienced a deluge of recruiter spam over the years. Most recruiters use the same strategy men use on dating apps: spray and pray, ask questions later. The primary beneficiaries of this strategy are companies like Microsoft (the parent of LinkedIn), for which LinkedIn generates about $4bn in revenue per quarter (‼️) for their spam facilitation, according to their latest earnings report1.

Okay, the title is clickbait, and I am ashamed of that. So, I’ll give you the bottom line up front: the Dunning-Kruger effect is (in my experience) spot-on, and even though it’s a bit of a pop psychology trope these days, I have encountered this effect many times. There’s a delightful (sacrasm) synergy between Dunning-Kruger and imposter syndrome where these two can work together in confusing ways.

We humans are complex animals, and our brains developed over hundreds of thousands of years to survive on a rugged unforgiving planet. We invented technologies that became luxuries, and for many (in the West, at least) we live relatively easy lives, by historical standards. It wasn’t until the late 1800s in the US that indoor plumbing was commonplace, which is surprisingly recent.