Tech’s stock crash and the Forgetting Trick

Big Tech stocks are tumbling on the news that the industry is losing handfuls of money. Just like last time and the time before that and that other time. Each time, tech leaders were able to reassure investors that despite burning cash like it’s going out of style, the technology that would change everything was just around the corner.

It’s a trick you’ll see often in newspapers, once you learn how to recognize it. In fact, once I explain the trick, you may start seeing it just about everywhere. And I really do mean everywhere — including in your own thinking.

It’s important to understand this trick not only so you can avoid getting tricked, but also so you can avoid tricking yourself.

In the news, this trick is used when discussing traffic-driving topics; known entities that reliably get clicks and eyeballs on the page, year after year. Donald Trump is one example of such an entity; closer to tech we might pick names like Sam Altman or Elon Musk.

On the surface, it sounds like it would be easy to write about figures like that. They say and do a lot, every day. But that very same property is what makes that job difficult. Because they have been saying and doing things for years, these figures all have a history that is a matter of public record. People writing about them want to tell stories — but the stories have been told. Readers already know the ending.

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