March 5, 2025

Memecoins and Marx(ists)

The best way to make yourself unpopular in crypto isn't to be a misogynist, a liar, or even a fascist - quite the opposite, those might even be somewhat celebrated. Instead, all it takes is digging out Marx's works and pointing out that the man who gave Capitalism its name had some insights into the relationship between society and capital that weren't all about crushing the bourgeoisie and bringing about a revolution. This much ahead, I am not a Marxist nor do I believe that we just need to ...

#philosophy#economics#marx

February 25, 2025

Trust less

It's always trusting less, not more, in this industry born from disdain for the existing centralized financial systems that failed us badly in 2008. I don't want to argue about corrupt huge behemoths here - and anyway, for a flavor of fictional authoritarian bureaucracy gone wrong, there's Kafka. The system ain't great. And yet, I wonder whether the trustless property we imbue the technology, the blockchain with, might actually contribute to how we v...

#philosophy#crypto

February 14, 2025

I'm tired, boss

Today was one of those days... well, technically, it still is because it's just early afternoon. But I already know my productivity will be low, which is fine because defining yourself via your output means you've bought into the system. It's a trap. The longer I am in crypto, the more often I ask myself, am I in the wrong here? Am I the insane one? It sure could seem that way when the most visceral reactions to someone on a NEAR livestream accidentally showing nudes was for people to fawn ov...

#crypto#philosophy#decency

February 11, 2025

Beethoven #7

A while ago I watched the Netflix documentary "The Only Girl in the Orchestra" following Orin O'Brien, the first woman ever to join the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. 80% of its background music comprised Beethoven's 7th symphony, the second movement (Allegretto). The rest was some Bartok. Since then it's been stuck in my head. Even if you aren't into classical music, you'll recognize this Beethoven, alongside the famous fifth's first movement, which goes Da-Da-Da-Dum - see, you know it. 😼...

#classical#beethoven

January 22, 2025

Losing my idealism

Cover: Augustus Vincent Tack's "Time and Timelessness" - I loved this one in the Denver Art MuseumDuring an AI agents meetup, I went to this year, I had the audacity to ask the panel a question they didn't see coming. Why they didn't see it coming is not that big of a mystery. Tech, especially as edgy as ours, often has a tendency to detach its developers from the lived reality of what we lovingly call normies. That includes not thinking much about what actually motivates people to overcome i...

January 10, 2025

Snow

There are those nights of white and wonder wherein all has a silver shine. with many a gleaming star - a sign as though to guide the shepherds yonder towards a new infant divine. Beginning of Rilke's Nights of white and wonder One of the most magical moments is opening the curtains in the morning just to find the world wrapped in a layer of white cold embrace, snow glittering in the sunlight. That's not what happened today; as much as I long for snow - this winter appears brittle. As someone ...

#snow#philosophy

January 2, 2025

Listening

'The word 'listen' contains the same letters as the word 'silent'.' -Alfred Brendel (Pianist) When I was visiting home, I started talking to my mum about how her recent pupil's concert went—a usual topic at a guitar teacher's household. Yet one thing stuck in my mind. She said that what she found astonishing and worrying was the lack of appreciation for kids who played a solo. Referencing performances of adult students and me, she noted that even a few years ago, the most obvious reaction wou...

#philosophy#listening#music

December 17, 2024

Effortless

One thing that'll never cease to amaze me is listening to musicians play the most complicated phrases, donning a nonchalant face, seemingly effortlessly guiding us through the highest highs and lowest lows of a composer's imagination. Of course, as someone who grew up with guitar teacher parents, I'm well aware that this effortlessness is something that didn't come about naturally. It requires a high amount of discipline and countless hours spent practicing. "The greatest artist gives free re...

#effort#fulfillment#guitar

December 3, 2024

Sisyphean

Seemingly out of nowhere, the alarm tone pierces through the cocoon of the dream you were wrapped in. More instinctually than consciously, your hand finds the phone and slides to the right to turn it off. Your head still rested on the cool pillow. It's dark. Only on the wall opposite your bed a small stripe of light falls in from the street lamps outside. Still in that sweet state between awake and asleep, you try to hold on to the last fragments of the dream, but they escape you, seeping thr...

#modern#work

November 22, 2024

Unhooked

You're the creator, but I am your master Frankenstein's Monster, Marry Shelley I don't know when exactly it happened. There's no specific moment I can point to. One day, I just woke up and realized I had an unhealthy relationship with my phone. I often checked or found myself scrolling through feeds, jumping from one scattered thought to another. All while going about my usual life. My screen time was never on an extreme end (definitely below two digits), and yet I didn't feel like I was in c...

#technology#mindfulness