The future is unevenly distributed. pic.twitter.com/ww6WTozUes

— Paul Graham (@paulg) March 20, 2025

On first glance, this post would have you amazed at how far ‘ahead’ the US Air Force was, and that’s not wrong. However, although society generally pushes forward, individuals seems to travel the opposite direction.

levels in tech:
-junior eng
-mid level eng
-senior eng
-staff eng
-senior staff eng
-principal eng
-farmer

— Kevin Naughton Jr. (@KevinNaughtonJr) February 13, 2025

There is a somewhat natural inclination for individuals to pull away from the “future” as they develop the means to (it is mostly a privileged endeavor). When I talk to my peers, it seems pretty unanimous that managing a plot of land in a rural area is one of the most attractive versions of their future.

So, yes, the future is evenly distributed, but it’s unclear which side has the edge.