Floating Atlantis ³⁸ ESSAY

Should one pursue enlightenment?

For most people, the ferris wheel of life is satisfying enough. Between the worldly pleasures, there is no catalyst to get off the ride and walk through the rainy, gray amusement park. But if you walk …

The Vegan Butcher ¹⁰ ESSAY

Chopping with existential lucidity

On the steps, a burly man wipes his forehead. He is out for his smoke break. Once dissolved the illusions of free will, purpose, and a self, how does one live in the world?

The Glass Temple ³ FICTION

Sunlit but without a source

The space was sunlit but without a source. The temple was walled with glass, revealing distant stars. The present stretched infinitely, until it was all I could see.

The Extinguishment ⁶ ESSAY

Enlightenment as the Great Filter

Asimov's dreams will never be realized: we will not be an interplanetary species or harvest all the sun's energy. Long before these, our great filter will be that have solved our motivations.

Madrugada ⁸ FICTION

The jeweled quiet of early dawn

The bus was a relief. The terminal reeked. Cigarettes and sweat. Men grown weary of life, who chose to bathe in eternal fluorescence. We departed. The city unraveled into pastoral stretches. Patchwork …

Pitch-22 ¹² FICTION

Series C startup unoptimizes society

Pitch-22's novel pluralistic optimization method allows create serendipity in daily life interactions, such as bus stops, ordering from restaurants, and booking flights.

Pitch-22

Series C startup unoptimizes society

November 1st, 2025. Bloomberg News. Today, we are here with Alan Wang. CEO of Pitch-22. “So Alan, what is the inspiration behind Pitch-22?”

“Well, it was kind of obvious, our optimization culture was destroying our social fabric. You know. Many of my close friends I made while waiting for the bus…but now buses are always on time. I didn’t have to talk to the cashier anymore or even step outside most days. I created Pitch-22 to make society inefficient again. You know. Late buses. Long checkout lines. I feel like this is the solution our society needs.”

Pitch-22 had just raised their Series C at a valuation of $1.5B. Alan was a wiry kid from Stanford, who took golds at the Math Olympiad in high school.

“Our entire company culture follows this unoptimization philosophy. Our website is 40% slower than competitors. Our hiring page, 80%. Our office layout is inspired by shopping malls, so it takes employees longer to get to their desks.”

Sequoia Capital’s Vinod Sharma is very excited about the company. “I think this is the sort of innovation that advances not just our country, but civilization. When I was young, the power would go out and all the kids would run to the terrace. These sort of inefficiencies are what the company promises. We’re very excited to work with Pitch-22 to see them fulfill this dream.” …