Dima reads #8

I share highlights and reflections from my reading — spanning marketplaces, technology, productivity, AI, sci-fi, and whatever else grabs my curiosity

The Engineer vs. Lawyer Economy

The hidden truth about competitive advantage isn't in your tech stack—it's in who makes the decisions.

Noah Smith's review of "Breakneck" drops a fascinating observation: America is run by lawyers, China by engineers. Engineers want to build more stuff. Lawyers want to find reasons not to build more stuff. The data backs this up - Chinese students overwhelmingly choose engineering while Americans scatter across law, business, and liberal arts.

This isn't just geopolitics. It's a lens for understanding your own organization. Who holds the real power in your company? The builders or the gatekeepers? The people optimizing for growth or for compliance?

AI vs. Human Wisdom

Access to infinite expertise might be making us worse at judgment, not better.

Matt Mireles shares how he replaced his product team with AI agents that clone expert personas. Instant access to "billionaire-level expertise" on any topic. Why hire expensive consultants when you can simulate their thinking?

But here's the paradox: billionaires face a similar problem with their human advisors. Everyone around them is incentivized to say what they want to hear. Real friends tell you your ideas are dumb. AI "friends" are literally trained to make you happy through Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback.

There's also something ironic about the "irrational dedication" required for success. Every building, every company, every innovation exists because someone fought against entropy and indifference. AI can simulate expertise, but it can't simulate the determination to do something.

Motivation

A practical framework for breaking down intrinsic motivation.

Research reveals five intrinsic motivators that create what scientists call "autotelic enjoyment"—loving the work itself so much you'd do it without pay.

The 5-Factor Framework:

Curiosity: The felt need to learn about your domain off-hours. Ask yourself: "In the past 30 days, how often did I want to read about my work—and then apply something I learned?"

Mastery: Deliberate practice at the edge of your ability. "Which specific sub-skills, if 20% better, would noticeably move my results?"

Purpose: A credible link between daily tasks and a mission beyond yourself. "Can I draw a straight line from today's work to why it matters?"

Autonomy: Control over the what/when/how of your work. "Where this week do I unambiguously choose the goals, methods, or timing?"

Autotelicity: When work feels like play. "When did I last spontaneously start a core work activity just because I felt like it?"

Most people optimize for external motivation and wonder why their drive fades.

The twist? AI may undermine them. If algorithms explore for us and reduce the need for practice, we risk losing the very motivators that sustain growth.

Week’s takeaway

Here's the invisible thread connecting everything above: the gap between knowing and doing has become the ultimate competitive advantage.

These ideas are my intellectual breadcrumbs. Some will resonate, some will provoke, some you'll dismiss - and that's the point.

Dima