The technological upheaval has massively spread the idea of non-linearity in all fields of life, be it economy, work or thought.
The older generation is dominated by the idea that gains are correlated with efforts and that the influence is linear since an individual cannot work exponentially, there is a biological limit. The leverage effects offered by the infinite multiplication of an advertising message makes the effort less attractive. Children and adolescents are more inclined than ever to find shortcuts to achieve a result, with the very idea that work is an archaic view of the relationship to gain. Certainly, laziness can have certain virtues when it forces them to seek efficiency. Nowadays, however, laziness itself tends to disappear, as work can no longer be used as a reference value. Thus, non-linearity can be explained by the adoption of an entity with a linear vocation – the human being – to believe that he can obtain non-linear gains like machines.
Humanity has been cohabiting intensely for two decades now with the Internet, so that nowadays we think of ourselves as machines and forget that we are limited by biological realities. Growing up with a mobile phone in their hand, children come to take this device for their fellow man. This is perhaps the biggest pitfall facing the new generation, namely to live as humans despite the omnipresence of machines.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of characteristics that make humans less competitive with machines and other algorithms:
the need for rest
the slow pace of learning
the need to eat
the need for esteem
the need for fulfilment
Man is a priori thought to act and improve incrementally. The plasticity of our brain makes the learning time much slower than for a machine.
Of course, there is a plethora of examples of dazzling success, but it is only the trees that hide the forest of people who have succeeded at the price of regular and constant work over a long period of time. It is better to think of yourself as a craftsman rather than an influencer. A craftsman has an added value to offer, he has a reputation that he has built up over the long term, his approach is more humane than the stars of the web.
