Thread by @Conaw

An impromptu voice rant on Matthew 20 - the Parable of the Workers in the vineyards, as it relates to creativity and insight, and the collective unconscious (or God) calling more labourers to work on the problem you’re working on. Particularly on Roam inspired projects/clones

In summary:

The Master = The Collective Unconscious
Vineyard/Kingdom of God = Calling or life's work
The Scorching Heat / burden of the day = Rejection, Risk, Emotional anguish, Uncertainty
Wages = Inspiration, Support 💸+🏅
Laborers = People working on manifesting an idea

In my worldview - to be angry at some pattern of reality is to be "angry with God" and it's hard to look at trends or patterns that feel "unfair"

Truth is, there is a ton of value to the commons from Copycats, often rewards for those who create them.

https://twitter.com/vgr/status/1427796507508363264

Inevitability of "clones" was one main objection we heard from investors during years of struggle to make ends meet

@andy_matuschak makes a good case imitation dynamics are a major reason we rarely see new paradigms in TFT

It's felt hard to welcome that
numinous.productions/ttft/#why-not-…

@andy_matuschak It's felt particularly hard to stay charitable when I hear comparisons like (new entrant x seem to be moving faster than you, or they have a public roadmap why don't you) when 90% of the work is figuring out WHAT to build.

I've definitely felt insulted

https://twitter.com/alexeyguzey/status/1280704243461238784

That said, this frame isn't actually helpful, and the parable is a great reminder of how blessed I've been to be able to spend my life working on something so meaningful - to be given such an abundance of resources to steward, and where the ideas come from in the first place

If the world calls more laborers to the field of knowledge graphs, and if they don't have to go through same suffering we had to, if they are granted gifts of inspiration and insight from the collective unconscious... who am I to begrudge God for his generosity?!

If they seek to claim some more high ground because they are open source? it's worth considering that claim independently of 2nd order impacts that the imitation dynamic has on fundraising potential of more substantially new tools for thoughts.

If they attack me? Character > Rep

*moral high ground.

That’s been the thing that has irked me the most. We’ve given 10s of thousands of discounts or free plans to those who need assistance- yet there are some who still seem intent on viewing us as evil extortionists because we charge a premium price

🤷‍♂️& move on

Anyway, just working shit out in public. Hard to learn or do any sort of creative work when you're pissed.

There's a lot more wisdom to Matthew 20 than this case, but that's beauty of parables, connecting it with this really brought the message alive for me in new way.