Mihir A. Desai presents a valid point about the circular nature of Big Tech investments and the potential risks associated with investors' overconfidence in these companies. However, the use of the ouroboros analogy to explain this dynamic is questionable, and Desai attacks a weakened version of the opposing argument favoring investment in tech companies.

1. questionable analogy • The text draws an analogy between the ouroboros and the financial actions of Big Tech companies, suggesting that they are "eating themselves alive."

The image of the ouroboros, a serpent eating its own tail... helps us understand the most significant financial puzzle of our day.

The author believes the tech industry resembles the ouroboros in its self-cannibalistic behavior, where Big Tech companies are investing heavily in each other and buying back their own shares, actions that may ultimately lead to diminishing returns. This analogy suggests that the industry is consuming its own resources in a cycle that could be unsustainable, much like the ouroboros consuming its own tail.

However, there are significant faults in this analogy. The ouroboros, by its nature, remains the same size or may even shrink as it consumes itself, symbolizing a closed, self-limiting cycle. In contrast, the tech industry has demonstrated consistent growth over decades, driven by innovation, expanding markets, and increasing demand for technology.

Also, the ouroboros, as a symbol, is self-contained and does not produce anything beyond itself, reflecting a cycle of self-consumption without external contribution or creation. In contrast, the tech industry is highly productive, consistently launching new products and services that not only fuel its own growth but also drive innovation and development across various other industries. This productive capability and external influence are key aspects of the tech industry that the ouroboros analogy fails to capture, further demonstrating why the analogy is faulty. The tech industry's role as a catalyst for broader economic growth and transformation starkly contrasts with the self-limiting and insular nature of the ouroboros.

2. weak man •     - The author characterizes tech investment rationales as being based on "mythical and messianic belief."

And the self-cannibalization will reveal itself to be not just a mediocre investment but also a shaky bet on an illusion propagated by a mythical and messianic belief in technology.

Rather than engaging with stronger arguments for tech investment such as actual revenue growth, market dominance, innovation capabilities, or concrete technological advances, the author reduces the tech investment thesis to quasi-religious faith. He thereby attacks a weaker version of the bull case than is warranted.