Space is Capitalist...

The Day an Astrophysicist Blew My Mind Over Coffee

Back in 2015, I had coffee with an astrophysicist because I wanted to validate a crazy idea. I was fascinated by the patterns in nature and business, and I wanted to know if there was a deeper, even cosmic, connection between them.

So, I told him straight up:

"You might think I’m crazy, but I wanted to meet you to figure out what link there could be between space and business."

I expected a polite nod, maybe even a skeptical smirk. But instead, he laughed and said something that surprised me:

"You know, it’s actually not crazy at all. We space people have always known there’s a link."

Big Data? Space Had Been Doing It for Decades

Before I could even ask more, he dropped another bombshell.

"You guys in business talk about Big Data like it’s some new, cutting-edge thing," he said. "But for us in space, Big Data is old news. We’ve been dealing with massive datasets for decades."

He explained that in astrophysics, the universe’s sheer scale means astronomers have been analyzing unimaginably vast amounts of information for years. Every telescope scan, every planetary observation, and every deep-space measurement generates petabytes of data. AI, machine learning, and complex modeling? Scientists had been using them long before they became buzzwords in the business world.

At that moment, I realized something—what seemed like "the next big thing" in business was just another tool astrophysicists had already mastered. It was humbling.

Google Draining Talent from the Space World

Then he added something that made me pause.

"You know who's been paying attention to this for years?" he asked.

"Who?" I said.

"Google."

He explained that Google had been poaching astrophysicists and space scientists left and right because they needed top-tier talent to handle their growing data challenges. These were people who had been working on deep-space calculations, gravitational wave analysis, and cosmic simulations—all of which required extreme expertise in pattern recognition and big data processing.

"For years, we had the smartest people in the world working on understanding the universe," he said. "Now, a lot of them are working on making better ad algorithms."

I was bummed. My little bubble of thinking I was riding some new wave of discovery burst in an instant. Big Data in business wasn’t a revolution—it was just a transfer of knowledge from astrophysics to Silicon Valley.

The Shocking Parallel Between Space and Business

But then he hit me with the most mind-blowing insight of all.

"You know what’s even crazier?" he said. "A group of scientists wrote a research paper recently, and do you know what they discovered?"

I leaned in.

"Space," he said, "is capitalist."

Galaxies: The Capitalist Giants of the Universe

I must have looked confused because he laughed. Then he explained.

"There are different types of galaxies. Some, like our Milky Way, are constantly expanding—attracting more matter, pulling in stars, and growing exponentially. Others get consumed by larger galaxies, losing their identity as they’re absorbed. And then, there are the small, dying galaxies that collapse into their own black holes, disappearing forever."

I sat there, stunned.

"Think about it in business terms," he continued. "Big galaxies are like massive corporations—Google, Amazon, LVMH, Airbus. They expand relentlessly, pulling in startups, acquiring companies, and growing larger. The smaller players either get acquired, merge, or disappear into the void."

It was a perfect metaphor. Just like in the cosmos, businesses exist in a system where scale, gravity, and competition determine survival. The strongest attract resources, talent, and customers, while the weaker ones either get absorbed—or fade away.

The Universe Has Always Worked This Way

That coffee conversation shifted my perspective. It made me realize that business isn't just about economics or human behavior—it follows the fundamental laws of the universe.

Growth, attraction, competition, and survival? These forces aren’t just business principles. They are cosmic. They have been shaping galaxies for billions of years, and they shape markets the same way today.

That astrophysicist? He didn’t just confirm my crazy idea—he made it bigger than I ever imagined.

A coffee well worth having.