Jesse Ojuka

While reading Alex Karp and Palantirs book it is clear how nuanced the whole endeavour is and how misrepresentative the media can get. It is teaching me a lot about what it is like to build an unconventional company. And yes, is it clear that Alex Karp, a biracial, dyslexic ADHD kid who grew up working class and with a philosophy degree and divorced parents, cares deeply about people and has a nuanced but somewhat coherent view of the world and even inspiring. (He mentions the phrase ‘Cognitive structure’ in the book which was fascinating from a TAC perspective.

Last year after a blind application to the to Palantir in New York without knowing who they were, the experience took me to the fourth round. It was a deep learning experience and, it opened doors in my mind. Ever since, my curiosity for the company has maintained.

One thing that jumps to mind is the fact that while Palantir is a company that very much similar to TAC. TAC may build the world we want to look forward to. While Palantir builds the tools for the world we live in. He even says “bad times are good for Palantir”. 

It is a great company within a certain paradigm. It improves the paradigm. It does not reimagine the paradigm. 

Overall, it was one of the most engaging reading experiences and showed me how important books are for expanding our perspective given how coercive and bias media can be. It felt like reading a sci fi book.