they care about it being more profitable than what everyone else is doing
But they’re not doing that either! They’re less profitable than anyone else on earth! Rolling the dice on the restaurant game would give them a better chance of making More Money Than God because the chance is higher than 0.
Even profitability isn’t the goal–that’s been abstracted away. The real money is in being able to convince people that you might someday be really profitable. That profitability never actually has to come as long as you can keep the confidence up. It’s a grift in the most literal sense.
But they’re not doing that either! They’re less profitable than anyone else on earth! Rolling the dice on the restaurant game would give them a better chance of making More Money Than God because the chance is higher than 0.
Even profitability isn’t the goal–that’s been abstracted away. The real money is in being able to convince people that you might someday be really profitable. That profitability never actually has to come as long as you can keep the confidence up. It’s a grift in the most literal sense.