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Jake Eaton's avatar

I like this. It's funny, in some ways the five observations really feel like you're describing an LA-ification of SF, even though each of these have their own unique feel in SF proper. I think aesthetics might be social-media driven — that one feels like the entire country has embraced. But I definitely agree on EQ/mysticism, and I think you can actually trace a link there to Jhourney, The Alembic, and the broader dharma scene, in which processing/understanding/working with emotions is key (e.g. Joe Hudson now at OpenAI), and also the slow fruition of psychedelics being more above ground.

I'm most interested in the mysticism part, and I think that one relates to the explanation for EQ but also has really strong social network effects. Rates of mystical experience have been constant for decades. The willingness to talk about them seems like it stems from greater acceptance of the experience via psychedelics/meditation, but also just some key people in the scene (Nick Cammarata) being more open about them. I've also wondered if in addition to the What makes us human question there's also the 'What do we have after AI can do the thinking for us?' and I think the clear answer is mysticism/spirituality. Makes sense if you take AGI seriously you'll also be spending time preparing for what comes next.

Only thing I haven't seen is lite hedonism! My sense is that drinking has gone down. Bu otherwise agree with all your observations. Lots of talk about tech right, not enough talk about tech woo.

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Donal McKernan's avatar

This is not the first essay I've seen about a new Romantic movement. I sense hints of it too, not just online but in real life, particularly with younger folks. I live nowhere near SF, but it seems that things like this are global nowadays. I find the inter-war European romantic movement interesting, particularly the communal experiments of that time. It seems intentional communities are cool again, too.

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