AHWhite

Author of "Walking Banks", a bitcoin novel. Neurobiologist, scientist, bitcoiner. Came for the novelty, staying for the content. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0DCP6BCDL

Public Key

npub1c2rvx6ue9uewl452kczcfxz9w242sfzn64ul8dv2afd3t5dpktzs0kmmvf

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

NIP-57 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsv9pkrdwvj7vh0669tvpvynpzh924gy3fa270nkk9w5kc46xsm93gprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntqy28wumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hstdlsmd

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1c2rvx6ue9uewl452kczcfxz9w242sfzn64ul8dv2afd3t5dpktzs0kmmvf

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Last Notes

2024-09-19 17:24:18

I was listening to @npub14mc…frlx 's recent podcast with Matthew Pines and their discussion about consciousness as an underlying component of the universe. Interesting on many levels.
The philosophy he described from Philipp Goff about the meaning of life that Matthew mostly seems to follow (with some modifications), reminded me a lot about the philosophy described in Gregory Roberts 2003 novel Shantaram that he expresses in the person of Khader Khan which can be summarized maybe as "everything that contributes to the complexity and richness of existence is meaningful" and that the "the universe is driven by the need to evolve, grow, and expand its possibilities"
In his words, the whole point of everything in the universe is that the universe becomes more interesting. If one leads a life that maximizes the probability to make the universe more complex, one has lead a good life. Every act of goodness or evil, every choice we make, adds to the complexity and interest of the universe which is how he justifies his role as a mafia leader, as he sees even crime and violence as part of the greater purpose of making the universe more complex.
I have not read Goff's book "Why" yet but I wonder if there is some overlap and references to these viewpoints. Would be interesting as Robert's book predates this by 2 decades and comes from a spiritual/religious viewpoint whereas Matthew Pines seems to come more from a rationalistic approach.
#books #philosophy #consciousness #universe #purpose #podcast #religion #spirituality

2024-09-19 14:22:53

What happened a couple days ago on September 14th that Nostr saw such a spike in new users? Was there an announcement of someone famous that they switch to Nostr?
https://m.primal.net/KuqQ.jpg
#asknostr #nostr #stats

2024-09-19 07:26:09

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I would laugh if it weren't so frustrating. Just as bitcoin was starting to distinguish itself from 'crypto' and all the worthless shitcoins in mainstream discussions, we have grifters like Trump lumping them together again, confusing the narrative for anyone who isn't well-informed. This is a setback for establishing bitcoin as an honest and alternative option to fiat.

2024-09-18 17:16:32

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True. As a side note, I really need to proofread my posts when typing on mobile. So many typos in my text. Autocorrect and typing while moving is a bad combo.

2024-09-18 13:53:49

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I've finished the podcast today and I am not sure were really the controversy is.
In Saylor's view, the yield clearly comes from lending the money to an individual/entity that will amplify the value of the original loan amount. His comment ton the 65y old that wants his money to receive a yield and so he lends it out a 22year old with a great business plan etc. On an individual level, this is associated with high risk and uncertainty but once you bundle multiple of these events, the risk becomes more easy to manage and basically a bank is born. The alternative would be a VC that forms and instead of expecting a yield, they want equity. Both forms are well established principles and will continue to be so even with a fixed, deflationary money. This is a simple concept and will forever be a valid argument to loan out money to another party with the expectation to receive a yield on this loan.
And I think Saifadean's view is actually not that different, it's mostly were he sets the baseline. He argues that a "yield" will be 0 when you lend your bitcoin will be zero. But then he argues that this is better then the alternative because zero is better than a negative yield (which would occur due to cost of keeping this capital as he said over and over again).
So Saifadean's argues from a scenario where with a loan you get zero % yield but keep the value of your capital fixed but without a loan you get a negative yield (say -0.5%). How is this conceptually different from saying with a loan you get 0.5% yield and without a loan you have 0% yield? it's just moving the baseline by 0.5% one direction or the other and in a scenario that Saifadean envisions keeping your 1 bitcoin buying power constant if you loan it to someone is still better and an incentive than not loaning it out and slowly have your buying power eroded. Saylor's argument that there will always be benefits from a credit/loan system no matter the underlying monetary system is still valid either way.

2024-09-17 17:09:43

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thanks for explaining!

2024-09-17 13:05:08

Interesting new study looking into the intracellular molecular basis for "Collateral fattening" . which is a reason why you might get fatter than you were before when you start excessive eating habits again after a prolonged diet period.
#fasting #fat #diet #obesity #science
#note1fk8…7twz

2024-09-17 12:54:15

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Talk to the teacher, talk to the teacher, talk to the teacher. Don't make it a bigger deal than it is at the moment.
Talk to the teacher to get her/his perspective and what their exact words were.
It's totally fine that your sister has been told that she needs to improve to join the orchestra and it's also totally fine that she didn't get voted into a committee. There is really no reason to have an issue with either unless
a) the teacher was being a dick about how it was communicated and was really harsh (but please talk to the teacher to get their perspective first; there are always two sides to a story and what might sound harsh to your sister might just have been a normal statement - being told straight up that you are not good enough yet to join is not harsh, being told that you suck and you are a joke for even asking is harsh).
b) you believe your sister's musical skills are good enough that you think she should be able to perform with the orchestra. If it is, ask the teacher if she can try out again or ask for tips what she needs to improve to try again in a couple of months
But being upset that she has not been voted into a committee is ridiculous. I mean its fine if she is upset. She is 10. But that you are upset is weird. What do you expect? If there are limited places and more applicants, there will always be children who are not voted in and being upset is a natural reaction to it. She will get over it and maybe learn from it, that's life.

2024-09-16 18:51:22

El Salvador achieves fiscal independence:
https://elsalvadorinenglish.com/2024/09/15/el-salvador-achieves-fiscal-independence-president-bukele-announces-self-financed-budget/

2024-09-16 13:53:14

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Depends on what the time balance looks like and if aging is still a reality in that scenario.
Knowing I'll die in 70 years with a failing body or in 10 years while being at the peak of my mental and bodily fitness while my kids will still be kids would make a huge difference how I'll use the time I have left.

2024-09-15 10:41:13

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I don't understand the technical details so sorry if this is a dumb question: if all the data for this is transmitted via relays, how does it allow for privacy?

2024-09-15 10:24:51

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Depends on the definition of consciousness. Do classically considered "non conscious" living beings exist in a reality? If not, how does one explain the string on ancestry that these being originated from if they never existed in reality?

2024-09-15 10:18:11

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is (f) for real?

2024-09-15 10:13:40

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let's not forget that very often in history, those indie authors became classics only after their death. There are many examples of completely unsuccessful writers or painters that one would categorize like the ones you mentioned. They died unsuccessful, poor and unrecognized. 50 years later their works are considered the epitome of expression.
I'd say that in art, any unknown indie artist - whether it's music, painting, sculptures or writing - might just be just as good or better than mainstream colleagues. It's not like sports where this is an objective competition possible. Often the commercially successful artists just happened to be at the right place, at the right time, born in the right place and captured the eye of the right supporter. I known I heard some amazing street musicians that would put most most mainstream singers to shame and have seen amazing paintings in local artist galleries that you'll only see when you visit these towns.

2024-09-14 20:01:42

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Would be interesting to see if there is any correlation in today's world between % of bitcoin uptake in the population and child mortality in a country. I guess the data will be muddied by a dominating correlation between how advanced a nation is in terms of technology and thereby allowing for knowing about, having access to & buying bitcoin in the first place and health care development but if one could correct the dataset for this kind of likely dominating correlative factor, maybe one could at least get a glimpse into whether or not there is any credence to the theory.

2024-09-13 20:28:04

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nothing like a little scare to get you energized for the weekend!

2024-09-13 20:17:40

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😃 that sounds familiar. Hope they were able to open the door without any damage.

2024-09-13 13:12:09

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sorry, meant of course gold/bitcoin align with "low time preference"

2024-09-13 13:09:36

A kind of convoluted thought about child mortality, #science, #religion, #bitcoin and #fiat. Bear with me.
Science/engineneering and religion/spirituality mostly have an antagonistic relationship and throughout history have always shaped each other. One thing I rarely considered in this reciprocal relationship is the simple fact that the common state for mankind has been that child mortality was around 40-50% before reaching reproductive age. That means that in order to just avoid the vanishing of your family, your tribe, your town, your state, women needed to have at least 4 kids on average, often before the age of 20. And the risk of them themselves dying during child births was high.
Pretty much every parent had had to bury multiple own their own children, every sibling saw the death of a brother or sister as children, many saw their mothers dying when they where still young. The natural state of being for any human was death, loss and uncertainty and exposure to all of these as a regular occurance. How was the mind and perspective on life shaped by this reality?
In such a world, there was likely an inclination to be more cautious, to save both resources and emotional energy, and to prepare for the inevitable hardships that would come. The need to cling to moments of joy created a mindset that prized stability, savety and foresight. Is there be a connection to the preference of hard money in past times? Gold and Bitcoin align with a worldview shaped by loss, scarcity, and a high time preference. It encourages people to save and preserve wealth, knowing that the worst can happen at any time. There is a comfort in something that is solid, enduring, and impervious to external manipulation in an uncertain reality. In the face of death and loss, saving both materially and emotionally was essential.
Only the quite recents developments of the last ~100 years (chemistry revolution, antibiotics, understanding of infections diseases & pathogens, etc.) has really changed our relationship with death. Today, the average person is not exposed to death and loss during their formative years. Now, with increased safety of childbirth, there is less of an instinctive need to prepare for the worst. People may feel less of a need to cling to hard assets or to preserve wealth for a rainy day. Instead, fiat currency takes over because external stability seems more assured (so no need to look for it in hard money).
In essence, a world with lower child mortality rates may have subconsciously on a societal level favor fiat money over bitcoin, as people no longer face the same degree of existential uncertainty that characterized the lives of previous generations. Without the same degree of existential uncertainty that once shaped earlier generations, the mindset of saving and preservation has been replaced by a more speculative approach to wealth, where greater risks are accepted, even in the form of money itself.
Anyway, my point is that beyond the well-documented technological impacts that favored the rise of fiat in the modern world which are explored by @npub1a2c…w83a, @npub1gdu…6nak, and others, maybe on another level the scientific and technological revolution in the last ~100 years might have also indirectly favored the invention and rise of fiat, by changing child mortality and - connected to this - people's relationship to their own personal time preference.
(I was listening to a recent Lex Fridman interview with a historian discussion ancient Rome where child mortality was briefly brought up)
#bitcoin #fiat #science #religion #death #nostr

2024-09-13 06:22:39

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I never really looked into farcaster and how it stacks up to Nostr. Would this be an accurate objective weighing of the pros & cons: https://denostr.medium.com/a-comparison-of-decentralized-social-protocols-nostr-and-farcaster-836dfaa0b231
if yes, I'll stick with Nostr.