Cover photo

don't become an NPC

Every gamer knows what an NPC is; the in-game character that talks, moves and acts like a programmed robot. The guy that follows every instructions and doesn’t think outside the box. In simple words, just a casual dude: doesn’t dispute, follows instructions, does the same actions repeatedly, is controlled by game-master, etc..

I know many IRL NPCs. I am sure you too. They are actually abundant and don’t guess why. Algorithms, news, some books / education and cultural beliefs are made in such a way that you become one. In fact, I will argue everyone is at some point an NPC. The current society is made in that way.

What is the problem of being one? It can be summarized in the following tweet by @pmarca:

Tweet by @pmarca
Tweet by @pmarca

If you didn’t get it: you basically become a slave. Literally. NPC’s stop thinking by themselves to follow the current thing. What is the current thing? the hot topic everyone defends. It is easy to detect it: just watch the news or check Twitter (I personally lowered my bird app time exposure by ~50% due to this). Suddenly, if you don’t agree with the current thing you are either misinformed or racist. That’s the current state of the world.. but please be positive. The game NPC’s play is not sustainable long-term. Why? facts don’t care about feelings… but that is just for another topic.

If you feel like you are always right, have the support of everyone, agree with everything and start noticing robot-like movements… (may happen?) chances are you’re becoming one..

Cast by @mk
Cast by @mk

The following ideas can help you avoid the NPC-ing effect:

  • read books/articles/blogs that pass the test of time (I know I know.. but still the best move so far). Understand fundamentals. Read them, check data, compare if still works, what new solutions are possible?

  • avoid micro-trends:

Cast by @galactickem
Cast by @galactickem

  • talk to smart people IRL (there are ton of online smart folks but talking to great IRL minds reminds you there is great people out there). Having a mentor is great (you can still refute them of course).

  • check official data (it can still be manipulated) but try different sources.

  • learn by doing. No better way. Courses, case-studies, memorizing tactics, etc.. will prob end bad. At least in my short experience.

If you are questioning everything, often disagreeing and people telling you to f*cking calm down… you are prob starting your purging process :)

PS: Even though my focus is on finance & web3, I wanted to start the blog with a reminder. Expect brief posts, long stuff is boring.