203 - A Dichotomy

Those who optimally exploit a given system, such as the "wealthiest" or "most successful" of an arbitrary category, are by definition optimal exploiters, the opposite of optimal explorers. In computer science terms this division is often highlighted as "Explore versus Exploit", or the "Multi-armed Bandit Problem". A book named "Algorithms to Live By" goes over this and many other problems in greater detail.

One of the most unfortunate mistakes that those in positions of "power" can make, be they CEOs or public officials, is to apply Substitution Biases to mistakenly identify optimal exploiters as optimal explorers. Bernie Madoff was an optimal exploiter, as is his successor and the one to break his record of $54 bn, Sam Altman. Neither of these individuals did a shred of exploring, meaning that the innovation value they offer is precisely zero.

Innovation comes from the explorers, and anyone seeking it has to avoid the exploiters like the plague, as exploiters create gravity wells like a black hole, where everything is pulled into the exploitation. Major tech firms tend to embody this, which is subsequently one reason why they've become infamous for "buying innovation", as they lose the ability to innovate in-house by becoming such optimal exploiters. Of course, that sets the glass ceiling of them only being able to buy what innovation is put up for sale. This means that eventually a company that isn't for sale will drive them into the ground, and it becomes a question of when, rather than if.

There are a few very different types of optimal exploiters, of which Bernie Madoff and Sam Altman are only one category.

Warren Buffet is a passive accumulator, like European families who grow their assets over generations, taking few actions, and seeking to place themselves in the optimal long-term position, exploiting only the environment they are within, not the others occupying it.

Elon Musk is a cult of charisma, directing any others in his environment who are willing, but optimizing around his own personal freedom, current interests, and whimsy.

Sam Altman is a "long con" type of exploiter, cunning rather than charismatic, who systematically seeks to control and exploit both the domain and all of those within it over the long term. This is the only fundamentally malevolent type of exploiter.

Likewise, there are a few archetypal explorers:

Lisa Feldman Barret is a systematic explorer, which led to her lab's work debunking the classical theory of emotions.

N.N. Taleb is a pragmatic explorer, discovering the low-hanging fruit and missing ingredients in any situation.

Chris Voss is a creative explorer, turning his domain on its head by applying novel tactics from adjacent domains.

As with all such archetypes, these ring true to varying degrees, as most people aren't purely any one type. Myself and two others on our team cover this spread of explorer archetypes, which I can strongly recommend for purposes of collective intelligence.