1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,437 Palanteer we talked a lot about different philosophy that you you do 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:06,797 teach us and talked about dialectics and one of the animating dialectics is you 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,637 know between pessimism and optimism and what's the best case for an optimistic 4 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,557 view for the United States right now >> you know America 5 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,597 uh produces 6 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,437 crazy outside the norm people that are 7 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:23,117 driven 8 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:26,877 um we're not constrained the way other 9 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,557 cultures are by um intergenerational 10 00:00:30,640 --> 00:00:33,357 risktaking. So, I mean, it's proverbial. 11 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:35,997 You're allowed to fail here. It's a 12 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:39,357 benality, but it's it really is true. 13 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:44,477 We push responsibility in all contexts. 14 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,877 Uh generally to people who um are first 15 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,037 generation achievers. 16 00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:55,197 Um so that is very different than um 17 00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:59,277 other cultures. Um perhaps there's some 18 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:02,477 good and bad facts around that, but we 19 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,797 really do reward outside the uh 20 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:09,517 traditional you could the short version 21 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,077 be outside the box thinking whatever the 22 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:15,997 box means. Um more than other cultures. 23 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:20,477 Um we have a deep and very very 24 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:21,997 successful 25 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:25,997 culture of um sophisticated 26 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,557 uh technical accomplishment especially 27 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:30,957 on the west coast born out of 28 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:34,477 universities but then financed 29 00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:36,077 um 30 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:40,637 uh in a way in which there is at least 31 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:45,517 as much alignment as humanly possible between entrepreneur and investor. 32 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,437 They're obviously not always complete alignment and we on the entrepreneurial 33 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,397 side. [laughter] You're you've been on both sides, but 34 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:54,797 there there obviously issues there. The 35 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:57,357 tech community on the west coast of 36 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:02,477 America is more important than all other communities combined in the world. 37 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:04,157 That's kind of rolls off the lips 38 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:06,717 easily, but we forget 39 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:10,237 um how important that is. We still are a 40 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:12,637 beacon for the most talented people in 41 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:14,717 the world to come here. 42 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,557 um our educational institutions 43 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:20,957 uh and in our general culture of 44 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:22,637 cooperation 45 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,317 um one one of the most 46 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,957 valuable and least read books partly 47 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,757 because I'm not sure it's in English is 48 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:35,837 um this book by Pleaser who was a um a 49 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:37,597 philosophical anthropologist which is a 50 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:43,197 way of saying he was talking about uh structures that are precultural that 51 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:47,757 impact human behavior was about how America 52 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:51,037 allows you to choose the community you're in, but then the rules of that 53 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,077 community apply to you. So in Europe, 54 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:56,717 for example, the state decides which 55 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:01,677 church, what synagogue, what mosque is actually real. Like when you start a 56 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:05,357 company here, you start your own culture. Um, and then I think all of 57 00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:09,117 these things cascade together. So if you're sitting in any part of the world 58 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:13,117 and you want to do do something interesting, your number one choice 59 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:14,877 right now 60 00:03:14,960 --> 00:03:17,757 without a good choice number two is to 61 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,437 come to the US and build it. Um and I 62 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:25,517 would say on top of everything else for all the class issues we have in this 63 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,157 country we are very forgiving of 64 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:30,477 successful people. You know, [laughter] 65 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,557 it's uh in most cultures success could 66 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:36,797 land you in a very first generational 67 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:39,837 success is very dangerous. 68 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,717 Um and I I that's just a limited list. I 69 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:45,517 I think America 70 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:47,357 and then like if you wanted to to do a 71 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:49,757 simple reductionist version of this, you 72 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,957 could say, well, why why are almost all 73 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:54,637 software products in the enterprise 74 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:59,837 context built in one part of the world? 75 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:01,357 It's very hard to answer the question, 76 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:04,317 but it is true. And if you went to any 77 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,117 country besides the US and said, could 78 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:09,837 we have 10% of that? They would do 79 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:11,997 really anything to have it. But it's a 80 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:15,917 mystery how we continue to do this. Um, 81 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,957 and so we're so successful at this that 82 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:22,717 we don't even notice it. And then we're 83 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:24,317 very focused on the things we're less 84 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,997 successful at like um making our 85 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,597 highways and schools and other things run 86 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:34,637 our healthcare system. We can go back. 87 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:36,877 You can go do a diagnostic on what on 88 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,037 why and there'd probably be disagreement 89 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,637 between us on the why. But it is true 90 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:47,757 that we're just the best in the world at a certain set of things and we're not 91 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:49,277 the best in the world at others. And 92 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,757 we're very focused in America on that 93 00:04:53,840 --> 00:04:57,357 and that obfuscates 94 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,157 um that without you know I don't I had a 95 00:05:00,240 --> 00:05:01,917 slight advantage that I spent so much 96 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,717 time abroad that when you kind of 97 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:08,237 reimigrate back to America you see these 98 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:10,877 things in a more wondrous way than maybe 99 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:13,597 if you're you're looking at some of the 100 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:19,040 things that really are below the say European standard.