Let's talk about the "track sense" of "cryptocurrency" and "AI"

I recently read an article that mentioned a phenomenon while summarizing this year's talent issues in the crypto ecosystem:

A large number of entrepreneurs/"gold diggers" have left the crypto space this year and have flocked to the artificial intelligence sector.

Just the other day, I was chatting with a friend about this topic, so after seeing this article, I naturally recalled my past experiences and what I've seen and heard over the years. Today, I want to share my thoughts with you.

The core points I want to share are:

• We can boldly try different fields, but in the end, we must find the area that interests us the most, resonates with us, and where we have the greatest advantages to cultivate in the long term. Only in this way can we achieve the best returns.

• Many seemingly attractive fields may not be suitable for everyone. Once we have identified the field we excel in, we can also boldly explore other fields, but we should not completely abandon our existing areas of advantage for a fleeting so-called "opportunity."

Before entering the crypto industry, I had tried many fields, including traditional software, the internet, embedded systems, and tech education. In those industries, I felt I could do my job well and achieve decent returns, but I always sensed that my understanding of the industry's direction and insights lacked depth compared to others, especially in terms of enduring stamina and persistence.

At that time, I disliked the feeling of just getting by in one field, so even though I had not found an industry that I found very attractive, I did not give up on exploring new areas. It wasn't until I entered the crypto industry that I felt I could find a slightly different sensation, experience details that others might not, and persist in ways that others might not dare or be able to, even confidently questioning the views of some so-called big names in the field.

This feeling was something I had never experienced in any other industry I had participated in before.

Later, when GPT was released and artificial intelligence began to usher in a revolutionary new chapter, I also tried to seriously learn about AI, reading articles from various predecessors. However, my overall feeling was rather dull and passive. A typical phenomenon was:

I could hardly raise any doubts or thoughts about some so-called authoritative views, let alone see details that others could not. What I could do was merely grasp the latest viewpoints and then understand the shortcomings and flaws of past viewpoints through these new perspectives. But none of this was derived from my own thinking; it all came from reading others' articles and absorbing and digesting their content.

This dullness and passivity quickly made me realize: my feelings and advantages lie not in artificial intelligence but in the crypto ecosystem.

I have observed the same phenomenon in others.

For example, Sam Altman, whom I consider a genius entrepreneur in the field of artificial intelligence, has been involved in crypto projects that are quite mediocre. The crypto projects he participated in lack taste and originality, resembling many other entrepreneurs' work: simply translating traditional internet concepts onto the blockchain without the essence of the crypto ecosystem.

Another example is a tech blogger whose private domain course I have been following for the past few years. He discusses various cutting-edge technological developments and application trends, providing excellent analyses in many fields (such as AI, life sciences, longevity technology, robotics, e-commerce, etc.), but his analysis of the crypto ecosystem is rather unsatisfactory.

From his remarks, I gathered that he had been exposed to Bitcoin long before me, but over the years, his understanding of the crypto ecosystem has not progressed significantly.

In last year's sharing, when he mentioned the crypto ecosystem, he only referred to Bitcoin, believing that the greatest value of blockchain technology is the creation of "digital gold" like Bitcoin. When he mentioned Ethereum, he thought its role was merely to issue tokens. He emphasized that the problems with blockchain are low efficiency and weak TPS.

This year, when discussing blockchain, he emphasized the fast transaction speeds of Solana and Hyperliquid.

The issues he pointed out are indeed problems with blockchain, but they are not fundamental issues; the advantages and progress he emphasized are certainly strengths of blockchain, but they are not the essential core advantages and progress.

I bring up these two examples not to belittle them; in fact, I still frequently read Altman's articles and watch his videos, and I continue to pay for that tech blogger's private domain course, benefiting greatly from both.

But I want to emphasize that no matter who it is, regardless of how strong or impressive they are in their area of advantage, it is likely limited to that area; in other fields, they may not excel and could be no different from ordinary practitioners.

Each of us is the same; it is difficult to be a jack of all trades. Therefore, what we need to do is find the area where we excel, feel most connected, have the most insight, and possess advantages over others, and reap the unique fruits in that field. We should not blindly follow trends or abandon our existing advantages to chase something that we may not be able to grasp or that may not suit us at all.

Of course, if we feel consistently out of place or unable to find our footing in the field we are currently involved in (including the crypto ecosystem), we should continue to explore other fields and seek out other tracks until we find a place where we have unique advantages and can truly showcase our talents.