Notes on The Premium Mediocre Life of Maya Millennial

This post by Venkatesh Rao is one of my all-time favorites. His term “premium mediocre” finally put into words something I’d been feeling for a long time but couldn’t describe. In this post, he explores the premium mediocre experience at length: its standing in the social heirarchy, traits of those in the premium mediocre class, why it all matters, and how to escape it. Some of the details are debatable, but there are meaningful big-picture takeaways. “Premium mediocre is the finest bottle of wine at Olive Garden. Premium mediocre is cupcakes and froyo. Premium mediocre is “truffle” oil on anything (no actual truffles are harmed in the making of “truffle” oil), and extra-leg-room seats in Economy. Premium mediocre is cruise ships, artisan pizza, Game of Thrones, and The Bellagio.” Venkatesh Rao struck a nerve when he coined the term “premium mediocre” while out at a fast-casual restaurant with his wife. The term instantly made sense to those who he shared it with—it required hardly any

This post by Venkatesh Rao is one of my all-time favorites. His term “premium mediocre” finally put into words something I’d been feeling for a long time but couldn’t describe. In this post, he explores the premium mediocre experience at length: its standing in the social heirarchy, traits of those in the premium mediocre class, why it all matters, and how to escape it. Some of the details are debatable, but there are meaningful big-picture takeaways. “Premium mediocre is the finest bottle of wine at Olive Garden. Premium mediocre is cupcakes and froyo. Premium mediocre is “truffle” oil on any