jer979Purpose Struggle
Yesterday, I decided that my blogging career should come to an end. I was doing myself a disservice. I told myself that the goal of the posts was to dig deeper, peel back the layers, get down to the core. But by publishing online (or on-chain as the case may be), I was subconsciously writing for others, even if I told myself that I didn't care if others read. So, in an effort to be more authentic, I figured I'd stop publishing and start doing a private journal. Within 2 hours of that decision...
jer979Value. Happiness.
I feel happy. It's fun, it's light, like a feather floating at the beginning of Forrest Gump. But, like the feather, it's not grounded. It can flitter and float away. Value is also ephemeral. We know it when we see it. We feel it, somewhere deep inside. Something connects to us, saying "yes, this is worth it." The "it" that it's worth is energy. Energy in the form of time, attention, money. The things of which our possession is limited. There's a reason why all the great traditions point to "...
jer979Coffee with AI
Every day for the past month, I’ve had a coffee date with AI. I literally sit down, with a cup of coffee, with an appointment on my calendar that says “coffee with AI”. During that time, AI (I’ve used ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Venice) and I literally have a chat, the way I would with a friend. It’s not “write this letter for me” or “do this or that.” No, it’s a chance for us to have a conversation about whatever topic I want. Many days, recently, at least, it’s been about quant...
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jer979Cents of Discontent
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jer979Cents of Discontent
jer979Purpose Struggle
Yesterday, I decided that my blogging career should come to an end. I was doing myself a disservice. I told myself that the goal of the posts was to dig deeper, peel back the layers, get down to the core. But by publishing online (or on-chain as the case may be), I was subconsciously writing for others, even if I told myself that I didn't care if others read. So, in an effort to be more authentic, I figured I'd stop publishing and start doing a private journal. Within 2 hours of that decision...
jer979Value. Happiness.
I feel happy. It's fun, it's light, like a feather floating at the beginning of Forrest Gump. But, like the feather, it's not grounded. It can flitter and float away. Value is also ephemeral. We know it when we see it. We feel it, somewhere deep inside. Something connects to us, saying "yes, this is worth it." The "it" that it's worth is energy. Energy in the form of time, attention, money. The things of which our possession is limited. There's a reason why all the great traditions point to "...
jer979Coffee with AI
Every day for the past month, I’ve had a coffee date with AI. I literally sit down, with a cup of coffee, with an appointment on my calendar that says “coffee with AI”. During that time, AI (I’ve used ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Venice) and I literally have a chat, the way I would with a friend. It’s not “write this letter for me” or “do this or that.” No, it’s a chance for us to have a conversation about whatever topic I want. Many days, recently, at least, it’s been about quant...
www.twitter.com/jer979
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I look at this list of prices from 1973 and I see red.
I feel anger and I feel fury.
I feel this because in seeing this price list and knowing that, only 2 years prior to this, President Nixon infamously closed the gold window, thereby introducing the free floating era of pure “fiat” money.
Since then, and you should go check this yourself using any of the LLMs out there, the purchasing power of the US dollar has fallen precipitously.
That means that when your grandparents decided, in 1973, that they didn’t want to go to a movie that night, but would rather go another night (say in 2025), the $3.50 they put away as “2 movie tickets” was-surprise, surprise- not able to buy the same movie tickets 50 years later.
This silent killer of inflation makes everyone poorer and, disproportionately hurts the poorest in our society.
The result?
People feel overwhelmed, like they are drowning, because they can’t keep up with the lifestyle they want (even if it’s a modest one).
This causes stress, reduces optionality, and hinders people from achieving their true potential.
It’s a case of the way our system of money works creating a matrix of servitude and indebtedness that seems harmless (because “everyone lives in it”), but really is a thief along the road of the pursuit of happiness.
Why is there so much anger and discontent globally today?
I’m not naive enough to think it all has to do with inflation, but I’m not dumb enough to think it doesn’t matter at all.
It matters a lot because it erodes the foundation of the Maslow hierarchy.
I look at this list of prices from 1973 and I see red.
I feel anger and I feel fury.
I feel this because in seeing this price list and knowing that, only 2 years prior to this, President Nixon infamously closed the gold window, thereby introducing the free floating era of pure “fiat” money.
Since then, and you should go check this yourself using any of the LLMs out there, the purchasing power of the US dollar has fallen precipitously.
That means that when your grandparents decided, in 1973, that they didn’t want to go to a movie that night, but would rather go another night (say in 2025), the $3.50 they put away as “2 movie tickets” was-surprise, surprise- not able to buy the same movie tickets 50 years later.
This silent killer of inflation makes everyone poorer and, disproportionately hurts the poorest in our society.
The result?
People feel overwhelmed, like they are drowning, because they can’t keep up with the lifestyle they want (even if it’s a modest one).
This causes stress, reduces optionality, and hinders people from achieving their true potential.
It’s a case of the way our system of money works creating a matrix of servitude and indebtedness that seems harmless (because “everyone lives in it”), but really is a thief along the road of the pursuit of happiness.
Why is there so much anger and discontent globally today?
I’m not naive enough to think it all has to do with inflation, but I’m not dumb enough to think it doesn’t matter at all.
It matters a lot because it erodes the foundation of the Maslow hierarchy.
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