It's not just about the end results, it's about being the person or seeking the experiences you want to have.
Maybe you want to be the person who builds companies. Go build one. Maybe you want to make 3d designs or game engines or hack on circuits. Buy the book and get started. You're not likely to be the next maestro, no one is. But you do bring your unique identity and a fresh perspective which those before did not have.
Even if you don't build a world changing something or other at least you did the things you wanted to do and were the person you wanted to be. Even getting close to that is a life well lived, and lucky and privileged in many eyes.
It's a lot of fun to build something yourself. It's not very fun to spend days wading through an old opensource code base only to get told that your change won't be merged. The only people who go through that process are those that absolutely need the patch.
The thought of contributing to Freecad hasn't crossed my mind because of that.
Meanwhile some people swim against the stream and create something beautiful. Just take a look at Kicad vs Horizon EDA. The world is better off by having both.
Are we living in a unique time period where there are truly going to be multiple game-changers? Or will one end up vastly outshining the rest in retrospect? (Just like 3D printing and IoT seemed to fizzle last decade.)
1980s PCs 1990s Internet 2000s Web 2.0 & Social 2010s Mobile 2020s... {AI, Crypto, Metaverse, Synthetic Biology}
(I was going to add quantum computing & nuclear fusion on there as well but IMO their impact is more likely to be further out.)
(I do think the 3D printing craze was premature given the state of the tech then and now. I did just see a video of 3D printed full-size boat though so who knows...)
But I do think you're right that the trend is accelerating and will most likely continue to do so. It's that compounding trick, applied to history.
I have been feeling really down lately about how my life has turned out, which sounds a little ridiculous and self-indulgent given how much I earn in my day job. I'm really grateful for it, and grateful to remain employed, but I live in San Francisco and am a stone's throw from friends and former coworkers who are swimming in the ocean while I'm playing in the kiddie pool. In fact, just yesterday I found out that a former classmate of mine is the co-founder of a startup that recently raised between $10 and $20 million.
I know intellectually that I'm also in a fortunate position at a fairly sizable company; I know intellectually that he has a long road ahead of him and success isn't guaranteed (so my sizable company earnings might look better in the long run); I know intellectually all of these things and more, but I also have to admit that I still feel awful about it--jealous, for sure, and maybe even a little resentful.
Lately I've been thinking of a small idea to build, but then I think to myself that there's no point to doing so--scrounging together customers (if I can even manage to) only to build something for a handful of people, etc.--why bother?
I don't have an answer, but this article helps.
Reality generally goes to par with math. So look for good math, and then actualize it.
But they also didn't know what was ahead of them, just as we don't know what is ahead of us. Then I think of all the amazing tools and cross-specializations that can create novel endeavors for our time, and it is very exciting. What helps me is trying to imagine a world 20 years away and then thinking about the steps that can be taken to get there. Also, reading science fiction!
In fiction writing I think happy-go-lucky stories don't evoke that much of a response. There needs to be conflict and resolution, or some kind of tension. On that note, I just watched the new Dune movie and would love to read through the series now!
