Bitcoin Tech Talk #419
Interesting Stuff
College Becoming Women’s Space - For a significant amount of history, academia was nearly a pure male endeavor. But in the last 30 years or so, it’s become majority female (60%) with the percentage increasing every year. There are many explanations for this, but this article hits on a particularly poignant one in that men generally don’t like majority women spaces. A much less politically correct take on this phenomenon is here, and both predict that the academic space is likely to get worse in terms of gender balance, where college may be seen as a rich white girl thing in a generation. I’ve written about college having become a fiat institution some time ago, so it’s not a surprise that the dynamic at play is not one of knowledge seeking, but status seeking, which in turn slowly destroys its original reason for existence.
Millenial Cope - This is honestly one of the funniest things I’ve read in a while, essentially making fun of the Millenials for their trying desperately to be cool while aging. More importantly, the satirical article goes deep into how so many are now rent-seekers (which the author calls the professional managerial class) and hits the nail on the head with respect to their generational politics, which is an unearned smugness despite their general poverty. What I found most useful was the comparison to the Gen Z’s coming after them who find all this ironic PC detachment pretty cringe and thus have very different generational values, perhaps one that’s not so captured by fiat.
Young Women’s Upheaval - This is an excerpt of a longer interview, but even the couple of answers that the author provides is extremely insightful. As she points out, there’s a whole therapy industry that runs on the anxiety of young women and it’s had the opposite effect of what therapy is supposed to do, which is to help them be well-adjusted. Instead, many get into analysis loops and shallow relationships of all kinds which ultimately makes them a lot more lonely. The lack of focus on virtue has ultimately led to a deeply unsatisfying life experience for women.
Laziness Death Spirals - The article is about how to get out of a rut, and if you’ve ever been in one, the article has some counter-intuitive advice. Among other things, it’s better to wait to act when you’re being lazy and you want to accomplish something. As the author points out, it’s the impulsiveness that got you into the rut in the first place, so using that to get out is bound to not last. Instead, using the next morning to begin is better according to the author because you have a fresh battery of willpower.
What I'm up to
What is Money - I was on Robert Breedlove’s podcast to talk about the problem of political authority, specifically the moral justification of government actions. We talked about social contract theory, mimetic desire’s intersection with fiat money, status games in a fiat economy and the alignment of rhetoric and dialectic. As is usual on his podcast we talked a good deal of philosophy, morals and God and it was as high-end and abstract conversation I’ve had in some time.
Lugano - I’m in the Swiss city this week to be at the Plan B forum. I will be giving a brand new talk, the Virtues and Vices of Bitcoin as well as debating Bitcoin Ossification with Jameson Lopp moderated by Stephan Livera. There are a bunch of side events that I hope to be at as well, including the unveiling of the Satoshi statue. Hope to see you there!
Dallas - I’ll be learning how to butcher a pig as well as learn all about regenerative agriculture, dangers of GMOs and other things at the Rogue Food Conference in Dallas on November 7-9. Use SONG10 if you want a discounted ticket!
Nostr Note of the Week
What I’m Promoting
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