General theory of "meme populism": instead of generating insights into reality as the source of advantage (in markets, politics, social interaction) one need only understand what narratives/memes people want to believe, and proliferate/leverage/manipulate them.

Simply ignoring reality is a huge advantage in any kind of persuasion. It removes constraints that other players struggle mightily with, opening tactics that can provide huge advantages... as long as you can count on nobody making a big deal about the disconnect from reality.

I started thinking about this phenomenon while working on Ludicrous, tracing some of Tesla's most successful narratives from small, radicalizing forums into the mainstream. Not only has Tesla become the exemplar of this culture, it has done so as this culture ate our entire world

For years I was super focused on this one example, but the scariest part has been the year since the book came out. I looked up from my narrow focus and realized that what I'd seen happen in this single example had actually taken over (to varying degrees) almost everywhere.