Singularity Mindset

In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. In a growth mindset, people believe that their basic qualities can be modified gradually via dedication and incremental progress. Scott Alexander has cast some doubt on the benefits of growth mindset, but I think it still has merit, if only because it is closer to the truth.

Growth mindset is a good thing that doesn’t do enough. The situation calls for More Dakka. I present: Singularity Mindset.

In a Singularity Mindset, people believe they are self-modifying intelligences well past the singularity threshold, that their basic qualities can be multiplied by large constants by installing the right algorithms and bug fixes, and that even the best optimized people are nowhere near hardware limitations. People who apply Singularity Mindset come to life with startling rapidity.

The seed of this post was planted in my head by Mind vs. Machine, which I read as a call-to-arms to be radically better humans, or at least better conversationalists. The seed sprouted when I noticed the other day that I’ve already blogged more words in 2018 (today is January 18) than in 2017.

Apparently, Kurzweil beat me to the name with Singularity University and Exponential Mindset, but (a) that’s geared towards businesses and technology instead of individuals, and (b) I’m agnostic about the exact shape of the foom, so I’ll stick to Singularity Mindset.