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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www.twitter.com/jer979
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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jer979Switching Costs
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jer979Switching Costs
Try moving your money from one bank to another.
Or changing an airline reservation from one airline to another.
Or porting your cell phone to a different service provider.
All of these processes-and many, many more- are full of high friction.
Overcoming friction requires energy.
Companies and institutions know this so they purposely create high-friction environments to make it difficult for you to escape the system.
Our personal lives exist within “high friction” systems as well, mostly out of our own doing, and the result of years of inertia or sedimentary accumulation.
A good example of this might be not leaving a job you hate because of a fear of losing health insurance (in the US, at least) or giving up a pension.
Friction and the barriers that support them reduce optionality, which reduces choice, which, if you ask me, reduces the ability to pursue your own version of happiness.
Lao Tzu once said that he has three things to teach, “patience, compassion, and simplicity.”
Simplicity is a friction killer.
Try moving your money from one bank to another.
Or changing an airline reservation from one airline to another.
Or porting your cell phone to a different service provider.
All of these processes-and many, many more- are full of high friction.
Overcoming friction requires energy.
Companies and institutions know this so they purposely create high-friction environments to make it difficult for you to escape the system.
Our personal lives exist within “high friction” systems as well, mostly out of our own doing, and the result of years of inertia or sedimentary accumulation.
A good example of this might be not leaving a job you hate because of a fear of losing health insurance (in the US, at least) or giving up a pension.
Friction and the barriers that support them reduce optionality, which reduces choice, which, if you ask me, reduces the ability to pursue your own version of happiness.
Lao Tzu once said that he has three things to teach, “patience, compassion, and simplicity.”
Simplicity is a friction killer.
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