Torch of Progress (a love letter to NYC)

The day has jazz in its belly, bloated and boasting of lyrical Saturday mornings—with families spilling into the streets, kids playing ball, and young couples reading each other’s smiles. Every weekend, I walk into this song on Amsterdam Avenue. With the streets cordoned off from cars, jazz musicians rise from subway stations. The air is now thick with the breath of saxophones. Though I'm often prone to romanticizing places, this is a sober account of New York City. The zeitgeist speaks for itself-- there's scant room to exaggerate its allure. 

Often, I'm asked, “Why do you love NYC so much?” and, like a woman reunited with her childhood crush, all giddy and assured, I respond, “Well, she’s always been the one. I could see myself marrying her.” And I'm compelled to make her better because I know she'll give back to the rest of the world. A city must be my muse—one that constantly fills me with awe and wonder, and when I talk to strangers or admire her architecture, she does no less. To think about the future of humanity, one must ardently love their surroundings, feeling a genuine desire to preserve and improve them. My interest in human progress is inspired by her charm.

Yet, amidst her allure, I can't help but wonder: If Lady Liberty could stir, even for a moment, would she furrow her brows, questioning where her torchlight falls? She stands not just as a beacon of hope, freedom, and inspiration, but her flame, symbolizing “Liberty Enlightening the World,” is more than decoration—it's a commitment to progress. Viewing New York as Lady Liberty personified, she carries a weighty duty: to gauge the world's trajectory and illuminate a brighter path. I look up at the World Trade Center and ponder: Have we reached our zenith?

While it's not immediately obvious, the rate of innovation as a whole has slowed down. When I say this, I'm often met with scoffs: “Uh, ever heard of AI?” Yes, admittedly, all too often. But taking a look at patents paints a dissonant picture. It feels like meandering through an art gallery, seeing familiar masterpieces merely adjusted with a few new strokes—more evolutionary than revolutionary. Though still captivating, their once awe-inspiring charm diminishes over time. Science and technology have produced fewer groundbreaking achievements; a world once awakened by the marvels of lightbulbs and airplanes now settles for mere enhancements to existing innovations. So, while patent numbers have surged, the tide of revolutionary ideas has ebbed. Is our innovation wheel spinning in place?

“Why does the recent rise in patent filings not track with productivity growth? Because the average creativity of patents (as measured by novel combinations of technical keywords) has been declining for decades.”— Caleb Watney

But in the bustling crowds of this city, I sense untapped potential. This city is a renowned melting pot. I've slipped into various scenes, from writers, theater folks, startups, researchers, and builders. Conversations span from the history of Italian cuisine to the magic behind AI on this Manhattan island. There's no shortage of talent -- what’s needed is intentionality.

The magic of innovation lies at the intersection of diverse ideas. For this alchemy to occur, we need spaces that foster free-flowing conversations, celebrate risks, and embrace the unknown. Major cities, unlike the quieter suburbs of Montana, are naturally poised for serendipity. As their populations grow, socioeconomic output scales superlinearly, but this growth comes with mobility costs. For instance, the genius on Wall Street and the genius in the Upper West Side might never meet, especially without easy and efficient transit. The sort of conversations that give rise to this magic are unlikely to take place at their consulting jobs. Having more third spaces is crucial! While New York has many, there’s potential for greater utilization. Proximity is pivotal for cross-disciplinary endeavors, and as cultural evolution propels progress, expansive, dense networks increase the chances of stumbling upon brilliance. Drawing from diverse teachers, if not through sheer osmosis, can give rise to innovation, even without conscious effort. That is perhaps the beauty of simply creating spaces where people can gather.

It's like creating an experiment in the Large Hadron Collider, you can't predict which particles will collide where or how, but you can increase the chances of it happening.”— Rohit Krishnan

A common response to my optimism for New York’s innovation potential is, “People have taken all the good ideas." They’re much harder to find now!” But is that truly the case? I think they are getting harder to find, but I suspect the bottleneck is good R&D efforts. Ideas, at their essence, are instructions on how to arrange atoms. Given their combinatorial nature, the range of possibilities is almost endless. Trying every combination of 20 items since the universe began still misses many possibilities! This vastness is both a boon and a barrier—while there's now a bigger pool to swim in, there’s also more to swim across. While most combinations might be nonsensical, the challenge lies in discerning them and addressing other bottlenecks. Amidst these challenges, I remain optimistic.

From the first day I moved back here, I witnessed a beautiful community around me. I had traveled no more than a few minutes, with a teetering mattress on top of me, when strangers appeared. NYC is nothing less than one big community--I just haven’t met everyone yet. It's this helping spirit and collective ambition that have allowed my lofty dreams to reach the heights of the buildings here. New York has jazz in its fingers, and in its bustling energy, I see the boundless potential of human collaboration and progress.

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This is the 1st post for the Write of Passage cohort 11. Prompt: Write an essay that answers a question you're frequently asked—combined with one of your favorite 12 questions (how can we accelerate progress?)