For years, building world-class software meant hiring expensive engineers—usually funded by big VC rounds. That worked when only a small group could code at an elite level.
In 2025, AI will expand the pool of potential contributors by 1,000x, dropping the cost of generating software to virtually zero.
But this only works if the code is open source, so AI can train on it and humans (aided by AI) can remix it freely.
If you’re living in San Francisco and feeling unusually depressed, you may have SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Research suggests it affects brown people more than others, FWIW.
I lived in SF for years, but only learned about it after moving to Portland, OR. Hope this helps! twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
My best guess so far is that SAD is an evolutionary adaptation to reduce caloric spend during the winter / monsoon season, when it was hard to come by food for months on end.
The best antidote I’ve found so far is going for a really long walk, 15,000 steps or so (2-3 hrs).
I’m glad I experience this “bone level sadness” for a few months a year.
It makes me much more empathetic to those who suffer from all the other kinds of depressions, which may not have as simple or free (or socially acceptable) antidotes.
First, stop comparing your first draft to anyone’s published masterwork.
That stuff’s been written, rewritten, reviewed, copy edited, line edited, and more. Let them inspire you, but not demotivate you.
Instead, compare your unpublished words to your peers’ unpublished words. You'll start to notice mistakes in their work that you missed (and can now fix) in your own.
The best way to do this is to start a writing group and meet regularly.
To collect feedback, I prefer the ABCD framework:
- What’s Amazing?
- What’s Boring?
- What’s Confusing?
- What Didn’t you believe?
Beyond the feedback, a writing group can also keep you going when you would have otherwise given up.
Research the company.
Use the product.
Find the CEO's email online.
Write a personable and specific email relaying your experience. Suggest some ideas, report a bug, or include a small UX improvement.