Thread by @dergigi

What a surreal week. To say that it was an honor and a pleasure to talk to @jordanbpeterson would be an understatement. I'm happy that it was received so positively.

Here are some thoughts on the whole thing. 👇

After the conversation - recorded in May, mind you - I wasn't sure how well we did. 5 people, 5 time zones, limited time, limited sleep, a frighteningly sharp top-lobster, and the topic of discussion isn't exactly trivial.

Listening back to the conversation had me pleasantly surprised. We did better than I remembered, touching on many topics in some depth. Watching Jordan put the puzzle pieces together was quite something. It wasn't obvious to me how many insights he had during the conversation.

Some comments to what has been said:

Regarding the transformation of the individual: Bitcoin forces you to (1) lower your time preference and (2) adopt responsibility.

I talked with @saifedean about this recently:

saifedean.com/podcast/73-bit…

(1) is a byproduct of using sound money and realizing the opportunity cost of not stacking sats during the exponential monetization phase of a new monetary asset.

h/t @ObiWanKenoBit

medium.com/coinmonks/hype…

(2) is a byproduct of Bitcoin's operation. You HAVE to hold your own keys AND use your own node. Not your keys, not your Bitcoin. Not your node, not your rules.

dergigi.com/2021/03/14/the…

"Why are these changes so profound?"

(1) and (2) have ripple effects that will affect all areas of your life. If you value your future more highly, you will take better care of your future self. To use JBP lingo: You will pursue what is meaningful, not what is expedient.

On top of that, Bitcoin embodies certain rules and ideals:

1. Do not steal.
2. Do not inflate.
3. No free lunch. You have to provide value.
4. No lying. Only truth.

h/t @TomerStrolight

tomerstrolight.medium.com/what-is-the-es…

Make of all that what you will, but I know from personal experience and from hundreds of DMs and stories that Bitcoin has the power to change the individual in a profound way.

People stop smoking, stop drinking, start families, live healthier, start saving, change diets, etc.

@johnkvallis talks about this a lot. We had a panel discussion about it a while ago, and many of his podcast guests share their personal stories.

At one point in the conversation, Jordan pointed out the impossibility of central planning, i.e., the calculation problem. This is *literally* an impossible problem. Even a perfect computer would collapse into a black hole. Combinatorial explosion is bad.

1 hour and 5 minutes in, the Doctor picked up on the fact that Bitcoin is a bridge between our maps of value and the real world. It blows my mind that he was able to piece that together. This is one of the most profound insights one can have in Bitcoin.

https://twitter.com/dergigi/status/1425203337071370244?s=20

I mentioned in passing that proof-of-work also decentralizes time. Few people understand how important that is since few people realize that synchronizing clocks across space is IMPOSSIBLE in our relativistic universe.

Bitcoin fixes this.

dergigi.com/2021/01/14/bit…

There are many things I'd love to have touched on: the ethics of money production, the design space of money, the fact how the question of what Bitcoin is can only be answered individually, and so on.

https://twitter.com/dergigi/status/1380064581859561472?s=20

Money is the lifeblood of any complex civilization. It is absolutely essential for a working and ethical society. The bible talks about this too, and there are some great writings that look at money through a biblical lens. Honest Money comes to mind.

https://twitter.com/dergigi/status/1375853472105570306?s=20

If you want to dig deeper into these topics, you will have to read a book or two. Podcasts are a great resource too, as is Twitter. Here is my curated list of resources:

bitcoin-resources.com

I hope to write and talk about the deeper truths embedded in Bitcoin as much as I can going forward. It is an endlessly fascinating topic, so there are plenty of areas to cover still. You can find my writings on dergigi.com

Thanks for all the love and support 🙏🧡

P.S: It goes without saying that I would be delighted to talk again, Dr. Peterson. Thanks again for having us.