Transformer cities are cities where during a certain time frame of civilization something on the order of Transformers would originate from. In fact, to push this idea one step further, you can ask how many people who know how to train transformers after it was invented reside in your city?

The answer to this question varies in the same country where new paradigms originate from, and also between different countries. I’ve been thinking about cities and ambitions a lot in the past year, and I think asking questions like these can really help you know what kind of opportunities to expect where you reside, and how steep the is city going to grow in the next 10 years.

Ottawa never struck me with beast individuals who want to change the world, and those who probably had those kinds of ambitions eventually left for other places like Silicon Valley.

I use transformers as an analogy that holds for this current arc of civilization evolution because cities that transform civilization will in retrospect have stronger economic growth, higher talent density, and more career-changing opportunities.

So to know if you’re living in a transformer city, ask how many people who know how to train transformers reside here?! Now, ask that same question in San Francisco or London, and you will get a completely different answer!