The case for digital solitude (or why we all should just log off)
David Peterson

One piece of received wisdom in startups is the importance of density. Dense ecosystems like San Francisco and Tel Aviv are worshipped, with cities worldwide attempting to rebrand themselves as the next Silicon Valley (I’m looking at you, Silicon Canals…).

I’ve been thinking about whether or not that is still valid, given how connected we are online. Density isn't just physical anymore. It's digital too. The constant conversation on X, tech podcasts and Substack has created a new kind of always-on ecosystem that shapes our thinking. At first glance, this access is incredible. Especially for founders just starting out.

My controversial take: founders, especially those doing anything sufficiently new, weird or hard, should largely disengage from the online discourse. Here's why.

The density trap

The benefits of physical density make intuitive sense. Smart people share ideas, switch jobs frequently, collaborate (economists call these agglomeration effects), leading to increased competition and greater productivity. Indeed, research shows that doubling a city's size can increase productivity by 3-8% in knowledge-intensive sectors.

The same logic supposedly applies online. Being active on X gives you access to insights from successful founders. Substacks and podcasts keep you informed. All this creates a "digital agglomeration effect" that should make you smarter and more likely to succeed.

But there's a critical flaw in this thinking.

Fragile ideas need protection

In a 2019 interview with Tyler Cowen, Sam Altman explained why YC doesn’t offer coworking space:

“Great ideas are fragile. Great ideas are easy to kill. An idea in its larval stage — all the best ideas when I first heard them sound bad. And all of us, myself included, are much more affected by what other people think of us and our ideas than we like to admit.

If you are just four people in your own door, and you have an idea that sounds bad but is great, you can keep that self-delusion going. If you’re in a coworking space, people laugh at you, and no one wants to be the kid picked last at recess. So you change your idea to something that sounds plausible but is never going to matter.”

Now imagine replacing "coworking space" with “X.” The danger is exponentially worse. Your idea isn't being evaluated by a few nearby people - it's being judged by thousands, instantly and harshly.

The greatest creators understood this, by the way. Picasso claimed "Without great solitude, no serious work is possible." Nikola Tesla believed being alone was "the secret of invention." Bob Dylan insisted that we’re “vulnerable” when inventing something new, and as a result, true creativity requires being "unsociable and tight-assed."

Social media kills true innovation

In an excerpt from his latest book, Alex Karp (Palantir CEO) writes about the difficulty of innovation: "much of what passes for innovation in Silicon Valley is…something less," Karp writes. "[It is] more an attempt to replicate what has worked or at least was perceived to have worked in the past." This sort of mimicry "can sometimes yield fruit" but "more often than not it is derivative and retrograde."

True innovation, on the other hand, requires rejecting what has come before. It requires "the bracing conclusion that something new is necessary." It requires productive conflict.

This is exactly what online discourse discourages. Social media rewards consensus. It boosts the takes that most people agree with. It creates trends and then reinforces them. It punishes truly divergent thinking. And worst of all, it creates the illusion of novelty while actually enforcing mimicry.

The warping effect

The problem is if you're building something new, there's, by definition, no playbook. In my early years at Airtable, I remember going to YC growth roundtables with growth leaders from the likes of Pinterest, Airbnb, Instacart and Facebook. Amazing people. Impeccable pedigree. Fascinating stories. And a complete and utter waste of time. We were doing something new. None of their tactics were relevant to what we were doing. Those sessions just served to make me feel bad about myself.

I know this exact same dynamic is playing out with founders in the digital world daily on a global scale. You're listening to some best practices being shared on some podcast and thinking to yourself…why doesn't that work for me?

This doesn't just waste your time - it warps your thinking.

Karp argues that mimicry is "toxic to creativity,” and nowhere is this more evident than in the digital realm. I can say this from experience! Scrolling through X, you begin to doubt your unique vision. You see companies growing exponentially with what seem like derivative ideas. You watch other investors pile into trendy sectors. Slowly, imperceptibly, you start to conform.

What begins as "staying informed" ends with you abandoning your unique insights about the world. And that's the true danger. It's not just wasted time - it's the slow death of potentially world-changing ideas that never get the chance to prove themselves because they were abandoned too early in favor of what everyone online already agreed was important.

Choose digital solitude

The alternative? Digital solitude. Physical remove. Not complete isolation, but deliberate disengagement from the noise.

I'm not saying don't move to SF or NYC - you probably should eventually, maybe even now. But when your idea is fragile, keep your head down. Build in a garage with your team. Talk to customers daily, yes. But tell investors to wait. And for God's sake, don't open X.

Go dark to build something that matters. The world will still be there when you emerge - probably arguing about the same things. David

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