Prepping

Consider the two ways of being wrong. If you prepare for a disruption that never comes, you have spent some money, some time, and possibly some dignity. You kept a larger emergency fund than you strictly needed and earned a slightly lower return on it. You learned a skill you never used professionally. You set up a verification phrase with your family that nobody ever had to say. You will be mildly embarrassed at dinner parties, if anyone at dinner parties is still discussing the matter. If you fail to prepare for a disruption that does come, you may lose your home, your savings, your career, your sense of who you are, or — in the most extreme scenarios — much more than that. These two errors are not symmetrical. The cost of the first is bounded and usually recoverable. The cost of the second may be neither.

from Surviving the AI Apocalypse (2026)