There is a particular kind of lie your network tells you.

You run a speedtest. The numbers look perfect. You breathe out. The server is “fine”....

The conversation about AI and the future of software engineering is often framed incorrectly. It usually oscillates between two extremes (total replacement or total irrelevance). Both are intellectually lazy.

A better framing is simpler (and more uncomfortable):...

The reason why many highly intelligent or deeply skilled individuals struggle to remain in large groups of “similar” people is more nuanced than it appears. In social environments, similarities and shared activities often become tools for gaining status, influence, or validation. Group dynamics tend to reward conformity and signaling rather than independent reasoning, which naturally discourages people who value authenticity and intellectual autonomy.

Most people place great trust in individuals or groups that would discard them the moment their interests diverge. This isn’t necessarily malicious, it’s a reflection of basic social incentives and coalitional behavior. Others adopt diplomacy not as a path to understanding, but as a strategy for gaining social capital by aligning with the majority....