Bitcoin Tech Talk #353
Interesting Stuff
Van Halen M&Ms - You’ve probably heard this story before. Van Halen (a rock group) forces venues to get rid of brown M&Ms in their dressing room. In the 80’s it was seen as the excesses of a rocker culture that demanded ridiculous things. In the 90’s and 00’s, it was seen as a clever tactic to make sure that the venues they performed at read the contract. Here’s a third reading of what the M&M demands were for: marketing. In a fiat world, this story of why they demanded this is an insight into the various justifications, which ultimately only Van Halen knows.
Fake Work - The article looks into how rent-seeking fiat work proliferates. Instead of blaming the workers as being lazy, the article puts a lot more blame where it belongs, which is managers that are trying to advance in a fiat organization. The incentives of a fiat money are such that they prioritize status games and the article shows exactly how those games get played in tech companies to bloat headcount and create meaningless work. In other words, the rot is deeply embedded in the way these companies run. Some correction was not just needed, but healthy.
Rock/Paper/Scissors - As this article argues, rock/paper/scissors is way more interesting from a psychological perspective than is commonly believed. I did not know, for example, that rock is chosen more frequently as the first throw because it’s the laziest option. There’s also significant bias against selecting the same throw more than 3 times, though statistically, it should happen reasonably often. It’s one of those articles that makes me think that I can make a bot that can win more than 50% of the time against humans.
What I'm up to
Simply Bitcoin Podcast - I spoke on this podcast about Bitcoin, the dollar hegemony, and how things will play out once the dollar hegemony is over. I also talked a bit about the hyperinflation that many countries are experiencing and the causes of the phenomenon from a more practical dollar-hegemony perspective. Lastly, I reflected a bit on how truth is something that people crave and how it’s very difficult to go back to a diet of lies after that.
Unschooling Podcast - I did another podcast and this was an exploration into my experience traveling with my family this past year and what we did for education. I got into why we did the trip, our strategy for our kids’ education and my general impressions of what needs to be inculcated into my kids. We discussed what family culture is and why it’s so important.
Gatekeepers Article - My article for Bitcoin Magazine print edition is now available online. I wrote about the zombies that fiat money creates and how it’s unnaturally keeping unhealthy companies and organizations alive. Sadly, this has been most obvious in the various gatekeeping functions of these organizations as they’re more concerned with political correctness and satisfying bureaucrats than making good products and services.
Bitcoin Amsterdam 2023 - I’ll be speaking at the conference in Amsterdam in October. My book should be out by then so if you’re in Europe and want to support me, please come by!
Nostr Note of the Week
What I’m Shilling
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