Massumptions <2026 Update>

But in 2026, we face a bigger, more contagious beast. I call it the .

This is the most profitable one for media companies. A single event happens (a bank fails, a virus mutates, a crime spikes in one city) and within 48 hours, the massumption is that the entire system is collapsing . The crowd confuses activity with danger. The Cost of Believing the Crowd Here’s the brutal truth: Massumptions are cognitive shortcuts. Your brain is lazy. It’s easier to look at what 1,000 people are doing than to do the hard work of thinking from first principles.

The person who builds a cabin off-grid while everyone else panics about rent. The investor who buys when the news screams “sell.” The teenager who doesn’t download the app “everyone” is using. massumptions

Your answer might just set you free. What massumption are you ready to question? Drop a comment below.

This is the belief that the current way of working, living, or governing is the only way. We assume the five-day work week is natural. We assume college is the only path to success. We assume the political system can’t change. The crowd isn't agreeing; it's just asleep. But in 2026, we face a bigger, more contagious beast

These people aren’t contrarians for the sake of being difficult. They are . They see the crowd running toward a cliff and simply… step aside.

NFTs, crypto, the latest diet, the “great resignation,” the “quiet quitting” trend—massumptions power every bubble. When 10 million people say a stock is going to the moon, we don’t check the math. We check the crowd. The massumption becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy until it violently pops. A single event happens (a bank fails, a

Massumptions are sticky because leaving feels costly. If you stop drinking, will your friends dump you? If you sell the stock, will you regret it? Usually, the exit fee is imaginary. The crowd just wants you to think it’s high.