Marius Schober

Progress Through Consciousness

Author: Marius Schober

  • Creativity and Commoditization

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    1 min read

    Most products and technologies became commoditized. I believe this is mostly due to a lack of creativity.

    When was the last time you saw a product that totally caught you off-guard in absolute amazement?

    Nobody dares to create something uniquely NEW.
    Commoditization happens because everyone is just focused on incremental improvements, calling it proudly innovation. It is a delusion.

    Creativity is not listening to customers. It is creating something completely new that your future customers don’t even know can even exist. It is possible in your imagination but impossible in their imagination.

    Vision, creativity, intuition.

    I 100% believe that listening to customers is a trap that leads to mediocrity. True innovation comes from ignoring the noise of customer feedback and daring to invent what they can’t yet imagine – yes, it’s risky, but the only way to avoid competition.

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  • Meritocracy Without Balance

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    2 min read

    Meritocracy without equality is basically a ladder with missing steps, which only the fortunate few can climb. The rest is basically left at the ground to gaze up.

    Furthermore, a pure focus on meritocracy can become a weakness if it’s a zero-sum game. While talents thrive in systems that value it, without fairness, you ultimately get exploitation, resentment, or fragility.

    Ergo: meritocracy needs to be balanced with equality, and equality needs to be balanced with meritocracy.

    In a meritocratic system, you basically need that the fortunate and the able are compassionate towards those less fortunate and able.

    If you are more on the libertarian side, you need the fortunate individuals to compete as capitalists and then be socialists within their communities and families.

    If you prefer a state, then the state must encourage meritocratic contribution of everyone that is able, to the best of their ability, while balancing it with a fair welfare system that nurtures and supports those less able and fortunate.

    I think this is something Germany did historically quite well, but at one point we lost the balance: we lost the culture of merit by putting too much emphasis on equality – even to a point that Germany now cares for millions of non-citizens that never contributed, when it should instead demand these individuals to contribute to the best of their ability.

    If we want to have a state, then we don’t want a welfare state, and – I think – we should also not want a pure capitalistic state. We need balance and thus a social meritocracy.

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  • Trump Tariffs

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    2 min read

    I don’t believe that Trump uses the current tariffs as a negotiation leverage – at least not across the board.

    The U.S. will not go back to 0% or < 10% tariffs, because Republicans (JD Vance) will with absolute certainty lose re-election.

    Trump promised to revive the Rust Belt, which are the swing states. He can only “save” them through tariffs against China and all current and future China alternatives.

    Some regions, and I’d include the EU, UK, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand here, now have the unique chance to negotiate towards free trade or at least a friendly ≤ 10% tariff.

    Yet, speaking of the EU, I think they are mostly too arrogant or stupid to do so. 10% seems to be the new base anyhow.

    The relevant question is how the EU will respond.

    Currently, it looks that the EU is looking for sovereignty. This could mean new entry barriers for US technology products. Perhaps even a straight out ban of key technologies like Palantir to replicate local key players.

    This in turn is the ultimate and biggest threat to the USA. A world that is shifting away from US technology will erode the vital pillar that is currently keeping the US dollar alive.

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  • Corporate AI vs. Visionary People

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    1 min read

    BCG says that 83% of firms prioritize innovation, but only 3% feel able to execute.

    I ask: what’s the bigger flaw: overestimating corporate AI or underinvesting in people?

    Probably both.

    I see a trend where AI is seen as the cure-all.

    Instead of investing in visionary and creative leaders plus the engineers to execute, companies invest in AI gimmicks whose ROI is (for now) mostly in efficiency – not real innovation.

    Everyone – at this point – basically pretends it will lead to proprietary innovation.

    At the same time, the innovation companies end up running after, are the innovations that AI tells them to – and because AI is commoditizing logic, it simultaneously commoditizes innovation.

    Congratulations: You end up in a red ocean instead of blue ocean.

    Therefore, innovation becomes competition, and is not innovation anymore.

    The biggest mistake companies can make today is investing all in AI and not investing in the human genius of their workforce: visionary leadership, their collective intuitive intelligence, Human-AI-Symbiosis

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  • Decentralization versus Authoritarianism

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    2 min read

    Erdoğan’s calculated elimination of Imamoglu through academic technicalities and alleged ties to PKK is not really an isolated Turkish case but an example of democracy’s global collapse.

    Yesterday, Germany rushed constitutional changes without proper scrutiny and with a majority that was already voted out of office, Romania disqualifies candidates on procedural grounds. The list goes on: Hungary under Viktor Orbán, Serbia under Aleksandar Vučić, Israel under Netanyahu, Poland under the Law and Justice party – the democratic backsliding transcends regions and political systems. 72% of humanity now lives under authoritarian control.

    There is a new playbook: weaponize legal institutions against opponents, manufacture legitimacy through procedural theater, and dismantle democratic safeguards while maintaining the illusion of constitutionality.

    We’re witnessing not democracy’s dramatic assassination but its methodical strangulation through bureaucratic manipulation. This erosion isn’t coincidental but the inevitable outcome of centralized power structures that invariably corrupt even well-designed systems.

    I believe that our only viable path forward lies in radical decentralization: distributing governance to local communities, financial sovereignty through crypto networks, and communication via censorship-resistant platforms that no single entity controls.

    Decentralized systems restore human dignity by establishing unbreakable cryptographic guarantees rather than depending on the hollow promises of centralized authorities, career politicians, and unelected bureaucrats .

    The future belongs to networked individuals collaborating voluntarily through systems designed with liberty as their foundation. Decentralized and globally networked societies are antifragile societies that unleash innovation by enabling thousands of concurrent experiments instead of single-point failures.

    Only decentralization can safeguard freedom in an increasingly authoritarian world.

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  • Why the EU and U.S. Might Collapse

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    2 min read

    The Qing Dynasty, Ottoman Empire, and Rome were all civilizations stuck in a grim loop.

    Decline hit first: overstretch, corruption, and enemies pile up quietly.

    Then comes nostalgia: past glories are hyped up – Confucian order, Suleiman’s peak, Roman strength – as a hope to be a fix for the now.

    Next, technology-hype steps in: Western tools for Qing, reforms for Ottomans, Christianity for Rome – all fueled short-lived dreams of a turnaround.

    But the cracks stay, and it all fell apart.

    Today, the U.S. bets on AI and reshoring while chasing “greatness.”
    The EU pushes green tech, a military buildup and is dreaming of a greater federation.
    Also Russia – stuck in deep nostalgia of long-gone Soviet might – is betting on military tech, but seems to be already in decline’s later stages, struggling against isolation and internal decay.

    Can they escape the inevitable? Well, let’s try to predict the future.

    The Qing, Ottoman, and Rome empires crashed the same way.
    Russia’s dying population and oil addiction could break it apart, with Siberia becoming independent, falling under the wing of a more stable neighbor: China.
    The EU’s bickering and nationalist mess might split it into weak blocs, forgetting unity, like the Ottomans did.
    The US, stuck in political fights and inequality, could lose control and states might go rogue like Rome’s endgame.

    They are all chasing old nostalgia and shiny tech, ignoring the rot.

    DOGE is the only effort to remove the rot.

    If DOGE fails or brings polarization to a breaking point, the U.S. federal government will fail, leaving behind the states.

    Russia will be left as a small state surrounding Moscow and Siberia as a larger and resource rich state.

    What about the EU?

    We could see a “Hanseatic 2.0” (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Baltics, Scandinavia – potentially including former Russia’s St. Petersburg) prioritizing economic power. A “Latin Axis” (Portugal, Spain, Italy) might strengthen ties with Latin America, forging a Neo-Romanesque sphere. Central Europe could come together around a Visegrád Plus, with a focus on national sovereignty. Meanwhile, the Balkans would remain a volatile periphery, vulnerable to external influence – particularly a strong Türkiye.

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  • Remote Viewing: Deutsche Bundestagswahl

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    9 min read

    Without a lot of preparation I tried my very first remote viewing with the German election as a target.

    (more…)

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  • The Era of Information Overload

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    2 min read

    One of the biggest problems of humanity is information overload.

    Think about how we used to get information just 50 years ago. We had to deliberately search for them.

    We had to engage in conversations, go to the library or bookshop to search relevant books or buy a newspaper.

    The internet gave birth to niche forums, and we got search engines which allowed us to find blogs and articles.

    Until social media arrived, it was a careful quest for information.

    Social media turned it around. Instead of searching for information, we now get bombarded with news, ideas, opinions – from anyone around the world, nonstop 24/7.

    With ChatGPT, we got a tool that not only bombarded us with human created information, we can now basically create our own information, endlessly.

    The worst: People now flood the internet and social platforms with content they didn’t even write themselves.

    What does this mean?

    It is now easier and cheaper than ever to access information. Which is great!

    But it is harder than ever to focus on what really matters to us.

    The now endless stream of information siphons our energy, distracting us from the intentional paths we truly wish to pursue.

    I think the best way to consume information consciously is to first have a clear picture of what we want to understand and know, and then to dedicate time for deep-reading and deep-writing.

    That means, not only searching for quick information on what truly interests you – but choosing one subject to study, research, and then write your own essay on it.

    Whether you publish that essay or not is irrelevant.

    Merely writing it keeps your thinking-ability alive.

    The important thing is to do it consciously.

    Use AI only as a research partner – not a ghostwriter.

    Pick what you want to master. Then dedicate time to actually master it – not only consume endless information on whatever the world decides is important now.

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  • Saliendo de las Limitaciones

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    1 min read

    Creo que nuestra comprensión de la realidad es incompleta y errónea. Por eso, nos movemos dentro de una fracción minúscula de posibilidades infinitas.

    Un sistema de IA general basado en el conocimiento pasado y presente solo puede explorar lo que es posible dentro de esa pequeña fracción. El vínculo perdido parece ser nuestra habilidad mística y exclusivamente humana: la intuición, que permite a los humanos con alta conciencia acceder a un conocimiento fuera de los límites actuales, creando algo completamente nuevo (ideas, invenciones, teorías) que nunca antes ha existido.

    Dada cómo se construyen los sistemas de IA, espero que logren avances significativos dentro de nuestro marco actual de comprensión; pero, en comparación con lo que realmente es posible, estos seguirán siendo diminutos.

    Para acceder a lo que parece imposible, no debemos buscar lógica e intelecto. Deberíamos enfocarnos en entender la conciencia; es decir, estudiar a los Yoguis, comprender el DMT, interpretar la Psilocibina.

    Solo elevando nuestra conciencia – y la intuición parece ser su forma más elevada – podremos superar nuestras limitaciones actuales. Porque, al final, las limitaciones no existen.

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  • Emerging from Limitations

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    1 min read

    I think we have an incomplete and false understanding of reality. Because of that, we are moving inside a tiny fraction of endless possibilities.

    An AGI system based on previous and current knowledge can only exploit what is possible within that tiny fraction. The missing link seems to be our mystical, uniquely human ability of intuition, which allows highly conscious humans to access knowledge outside our current fraction of possibilities – creating something (ideas, inventions, theories) entirely new, that has never been done before.

    Based on how AI systems are built, I expect them to create meaningful advancements within our current frame of understanding; but compared to what is actually possible, these will stay miniscule.

    To access what seems impossible, we shouldn’t look for logic and intellect. We should aim to understand consciousness; i.e., study Yogis, understand DMT, make sense of Psilocybin.

    Only by heightening our consciousness – and intuition seems to be the highest form of it – will we be able to emerge from current limitations. Because in the end, there are no limitations.

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