GM 🌞

The sun is shining. The volcano is puffing steam and it's not absolutely freezing. 😅

#nostriches whats the best way to find out how many people are using zaps here? And things like average zap amounts, highest zaps and lowest zaps? Is there anything like this compiled somewhere?

Feel free to point me in any direction. I'm just doing a bit of research 😁

And thank you so much for the #help. I really appreciate it. 🙏🏼🫶

Good day! This is #InkblotArt, the note that lets your imagination fly!

Today is August 1, 2024. Block height of 854942

What do you see in the blot? Comment and get a zap!

I just yoloed into buying $300 trump bitcoin sneakers.

Yes I’m very stupid.

AMA 😂

Did you get any zaps (21 sats) from me in the last 5 minutes? I think they were cancelling but I just disconnected and reconnected my wallet so I hope that might fix it now 😁🤞

You tolerate other people ten times more if you know ahead of time that you have a shared principal with them. You'll disagree around the margins but realize you're basically on the same page.

Back in like the 1950s USA, people felt that sense with their neighbors, church, and even government. They might disagree on things, and there were some shitty downsides to that (anyone not in the majority) but they were like, flag-waiving Americans. So a question is how to recreate that, and more broadly than it once was.

And ironically, as shitty as the authoritarian economic and legal situation is in many ways, people in Egypt today feel that way today. There's a substantial sense of unity or shared ideals, aside from a small percent of extremist outliers. That's true for many developing places.

One of the major strengths of the "bitcoin community" is this set of shared identity. Bitcoiners will loudly argue with each other, but they know they have at least one foundational shared agreement. That's healthy.

There were times, at like conference side-parties, where I noticed I was standing in a friendly discussion circle with like an anarcho-capialist to the literal right of me, a progressive to the literal left of me, a human rights advocate from an authoritarian state in front of me, a billionaire capitalist with pragmatic politics also in front of me, and us standing in a circle happily talking and basically friends. It's because we have at least one shared major principle that brings us there. A unifying factor for which, as we enter discussions for which we might disagree, we know we can build common ground upon.

As certain countries get hollowed out, and as neighborhoods become more remote and distinct, I continue to believe that local in-person bitcoin communities are absolutely profound. Regular meetups help exchange local fiat with bitcoin P2P, help educate people on the latest tech, help bring people from different viewpoints together, etc. Absolutely essential.

One of the most valuable lessons I've learned thus far:

Rational decisions can lead to a life without meaning

From the perspective of modern financial theory - the rational person should take that corporate job and compound savings over your life in a diversified portfolio minimizing asset class correlation until you're 60 and retire with $5M

That's rational.

Now some people realize that those investments are all just propped up by perpetual stimulus and because of this your $5M will be raped by inflation by the time you need it

That's step 1 and you buy #bitcoin  to protect yourself

What few people realize is that nobody created anything memorable for world by taking that corporate job in the first place

And few ever will because entrepreneurship isn't rational - the statistics support that you should expect to fail

Rational decision making is based on minimizing risk in proportion to positive outcome

Of course, minimizing risk good - but it often leads to decisions based in fear and compromise

and those little decisions of compromise compound over decades until you wake up wondering how you got here and why you're doing it all in the first place

Entrepreneurship is the opposite of this

It is venturing into the unknown and having the courage to trust your character and instincts

It fundamentally requires faith. Faith in yourself, or your god, or whatever.

Often it is the decisions that provide us the most meaning that are the least rational but our fear of the unknown or what others think prevents us from following them.

Making irrational decisions to avoid a life of compromise and pursue something that is truly meaningful is deeply human.

That's what living is.

Rational decisions are necessary and the mode of our decision making but don't throw away your life and humanity in their name.

True rationality is pursuing decisions that pave a path of meaning.

How many hours a person in USA needs to work to buy a house:

- 1950: 4,400 hours

- 1970: 12,000 hours

- 1990: 21,000 hours

- 2010: 21,000 hours

- 2024: 33,000 hours

I might take you up on that.

As always, it depends on the #reason. No action can be weighed without #context, as no object can be weighed without knowing the gravity of the planet it's weighed on.

I think that's one thing some bitcoin advocates get wrong. They sometimes believe #bitcoin is good in every context. there;s no such animal!

Dude, check your LN address. I cannot zap you.

Back from Nashville, and after a little reflection, I need to reiterate a message I frequently put out there: kill your heroes.

Most of the people talking about the moon, laser eyes, power law, get on zero, digital energy, strategic national reserve, etc. etc., or who are telling you to buy this device or use that service are **buying and selling your attention to make themselves richer** -- they generally do not have your best interests at heart.

Think for yourself and don't fall for marketing. Educate yourself about bitcoin, discuss it with people you respect, think critically about the risks, and then, if it makes sense to you, make a sensible investment in it with reasonable expectations, while keeping your larger financial situation and your personal priorities in perspective.

I am a believer in bitcoin in spite of, not because of, all of the wild assertions, influencers and aggressive social marketing out there, and it has taken me 11 years to get to where I am.

Be careful our there anon, don't buy the hype.

Good day! This is #InkblotArt, the note that lets your imagination fly!

Today is July 29, 2024. Block height of 854480

What do you see in the blot? Comment and get a zap!