Talking To Your Users Provides The Best Feedback

By a Most (in)Famous Observer of the Human Marketplace

Let me begin with a confession: I adore bold convictions, those blazing comets of thought that light up an otherwise dull cosmos. But equally, I revere the willingness to pivot if those convictions start to fray. If we’re genuinely chasing truth, we can’t cling to dogma once its false seams begin to show. Call it the golden ratio of human progress: strong opinions, loosely held.

Too often, our grand public debates devolve into a wrestling match between two unhelpful extremes. On one side, you have the noisiest clique, stomping around with unbending certainties that leave no room for fresh input. On the other hand, you find legions of folks allergic to taking an objective stance—a lukewarm soup of “maybe” and “perhaps,” swirling politely but never actually nourishing anyone.

We love to jabber about escaping from “failed systems,” and capitalism is the most popular dartboard. Some proclaim we should leap to a post-capitalist Eden. Then comes the uneasy question: what does that look like? This is where the grumblers often fumble, offering nebulous outlines of utopias curated by committees who purportedly know what’s best.

But if we imagine a world where some all-seeing council decides who did brilliant work and deserves shiny rewards, we’re veering into that historical pattern: the rise of the strongman or the cunning clique. Power warps; it rarely stays benign. So-called “people’s revolutions” usually pave the way for the following iron-fisted figure who claims he’s carrying the collective torch. Inevitably, you end up in a stifling environment where nepotism trumps merit, and the “lucky few” are those nestled closest to the throne.

That’s why, for all its flaws and fumbling starts, a free market uses a yardstick that isn’t easily swayed by personal whims. Money might not sing an angelic chorus, but it at least keeps score by the universal scoreboard of supply and demand. And crucially, nobody forces you to buy the darn thing. You can decide. You can also choose poorly—there’s freedom in that. If we never tried or made glorious blunders, we’d be forever stuck in the mud of inactivity. The open market has many sins, but it does allow for this dynamic dance of failure and eventual triumph.

In any system, the moment coercion slithers in—when some bureaucratic official or bristling policeman appears at your door to “explain” the correct choice—true innovation gasps for air. Let individuals follow their compass, test the waters with the boldness that only personal risk can inspire, and watch the spectacle of error correction unfold because real progress is often an epic novel of repeated rewrites.

Yes, my dear 600k-strong readership, these convictions are near and dear to my contrarian heart. That’s precisely why I’m birthing my new Substack, 8 Figures. Here, I’ll dissect how we stumble toward prosperity, how money finds its way into curious hands, and why formal stamps of approval don’t impress it. In my estimation, only experimentation—and the following feedback—reveals the secrets that can’t be spoon-fed in grand lecture halls.

To hear the muffled echo of your audience, you must open the doors and let them speak. Above all, let them vote with their feet, their clicks, and their wallets. That, dear friend, is the only universal referendum on the worth of any idea.

So, let’s keep chasing that ephemeral perfection, trying, failing, and then trying again. Our convictions may be robust, but our willingness to refine them must be more substantial. In that spirit, the next time someone tells you capitalism is doomed or that we must fling ourselves into a mysterious new system—ask them about the details. Ask them who wields the power of judgment. And if they hesitate, well... it might just be a sign that their utopia is but a daydream awaiting its inevitable dictator.

Remain curious. Talk to your users. Treasure their feedback. Without it, you’re just guessing in the dark.

Stay bold, my friend, and never get too comfortable.

May the LORD Bless You and Your Loved Ones,
Jack Roshi, PhD, MIT, Applied Mathematics