balajis

@balajis.eth

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We are hiring for Network School, starting immediately. You should apply if you want to bootstrap startup societies and build global meritocracy. Our basic thesis is that (a) Stanford and SF were amazing in their day but (b) they're in decline now and (c) the political process isn't going to save them so (d) we're going to have to build back better ourselves, if you will. If you share this thesis, and if you're an engineer, designer, or academic lecturer — please do apply at jobs.ns.com.

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Yes to this. We need it culturally too. I went to see Trey Anastasio play an acoustic show the other night and I didn’t see a single phone up recording. I’m sure some people took some snippets but they did it very discreetly. It was a sign of respect from the audience and a collective commitment to being in the moment. It was cool

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🤝 This is what I’m talking about with startup societies!! I would love to see opt-in experiments like this that selectively constrain tech offline. Sort of like the 140 character limit for Twitter was so counterintuitive initially, but helped make the medium. Personally, I use pen/paper or whiteboard offline maybe 50% of the time and it’s extremely helpful for deep thinking.

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“The meme and the memo” is itself an excellent example of a meme that encapsulates the memo! Great write up by @jacob. We got a lot done together.

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What can’t AI do? Deterministic polish. Maybe it can get there for code. With formal verification. But then that’s not really pure AI.

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We need a movement for offline spaces, just like walkable cities. Faraday cage environments where phones and laptops simply don’t work. Libraries with pencil and paper and no distractions. Laptops without WiFi chips, so you can type offline and then sync back manually via USB or Ethernet when you want. Restaurants with phone lockers at the front, where everyone must check in devices beforehand. What else?

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DM and can chat about it! @dwr.eth

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Ah, I don't think it's beside the point at all. If the new government is crooks, and the old government was crooks, then it is just crook vs crook. In particular, the fact that the new government (which is, as you agree, also funded by drug dealers) is opposed to the old government is just a turf battle between different factions of drug dealers. And that's the unfortunate situation in much of Latin America. The people caught in the middle have to survive somehow. They themselves aren't committing crimes, but they have no choice but to interact with criminal governments. To escape, they only have a few options: (1) exit via emigration, (2) exit by negotiating a special economic zone, or (3) use the internet to call in reinforcements from abroad. Note that both (1) and (2) still require interacting with the criminal government. As for (3), that's why ZEDEs called on the global courts system, for a more fair hearing than they could get locally from Castro's crooks (which, again, we agree are crooks).

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Both. But especially engineers, when sifting through a large pool of applicants.

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I have some ideas for AI-proof interviewing. But I’d like to hear yours.

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I am happy to get into all that, but I did want to align first on one question: do you agree that Xiomara Castro and the family running the new Honduran government are crooks? https://apnews.com/article/xiomara-castro-coup-carlos-zelaya-honduras-corruption-60fc69e941f8b8ed55b770da530468bf

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(1) How does it stop being voluntary? No one is forced to live in Pennsylvania. (2) In terms of digital expansion, a modern startup society expands like any internet service. People voluntarily join the cloud community. Some join as individuals, while others come as families, companies, or groups. In terms of physical expansion, note that a tech company doesn't have to conquer anyone to build datacenters and offices around the world. Similarly, if someone doesn't want their investment, or if they hate immigrants and foreigners, a startup society just buys property elsewhere. This is 100% consensual.

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Let me start with two analogies and then go into the substance. (1) First: as the left puts it, Donald Trump is a convicted felon who attempted a coup. Does that mean every real estate deal signed during his first term is invalid? (2) Second: as the right puts it, Joe Biden is a senile warmonger who misused his autopen. Does that mean every pardon and visa issued during his term is invalid? Point: you can actually understand the dysfunction of Latin America through the increasingly dysfunctional North America. Yet every business has to play the game on the field, even as crazy instability rocks the center of government. (3) Next, on Honduras specifically: the new left-wing government that oppposes ZEDE is also reportedly connected to criminals. To wit: "the Castro-Zelaya family appears embedded in some of the same criminal networks as its predecessor" Point: the anti-ZEDE government is not good. Agree? https://www.csis.org/analysis/bad-worse-xiomara-castro-administration-begins-weaponize-honduran-state

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Puerto Rico passed a tax incentive to attract people. It attracted them. Then apparently some locals didn't like the newcomers. OK. Please explain: (1) How is this different from hating immigrants? (2) How is this not what Puerto Rico itself voted for? (3) Why would they not change the policy if they didn't want it? (4) Did you personally "drive someone from their home" — or did you maybe just rent an apartment? 🙂 In general, I want to point out that it's "immigration" when you like the people coming and "gentrification/colonization" when you don't. It's just Russell Conjugation, a prejudging of the conclusion via vocabulary. All that said, on the substantive point, I do absolutely agree there should be the best possible relationship between newcomers and pre-existing inhabitants. Many ways to solve for this, including: (a) actually new land, like Dubai's artificial islands (b) essentially uninhabited land ceded by the state (c) economic/cultural relationships w/ local communities And so on.

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(4) With respect to trying again: we've established that startup societies have worked astonishingly well. But even if they *hadn't* yet worked, it's worth trying again every few years with new ideas — so long as it's an opt-in experiment. For example: for all of history, humans couldn't fly. And then, after the Wright Brothers, we could. It was worth trying again. (5) With respect to cleaving yourself off from society, it's all on a continuum. But I think there is a pretty big difference between (a) anyone "dictating" anything to you vs (b) people going off and building a society on their own. No one is your CEO/president unless you sign a literal social contract making them your CEO/president. (6) Regarding the Honduras situation, as I think you may know, the previous government passed a ZEDE law [see below]. So Prospera didn’t “try to take it over”. The Latin American founder legally invested millions in a largely uninhabited area near Crawfish Rock, Roatan. That's what development looks like.

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A few points. (1) The history of startup societies is actually one of great success. William Penn’s Pennsylvania worked. The Massachusetts Bay colony worked. Oneida worked. The United States of America, for all its flaws, worked for 250 years. Really, virtually every major city and country in the Americas was essentially founded from scratch in the last few hundred years. (2) Moreover, these new startup societies were responsible for many of the democratic innovations we take for granted. Concepts like representative democracy, written constitutions, and universal suffrage were pioneered, popularized, or reinvented in the New World. These social innovations then filtered back to Europe. (3) Yes, no doubt many societies did fail, like Roanoke, and many of the new political ideas failed, like Prohibition, but in general without trying (and sometimes failing) there is no progress whatsoever — whether social or technological. [continued]

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🙂 All right. Let’s go a few rounds. Our mutual friend @mazmhussain can adjudicate. (1) First: startup societies are based on 100% consent. No one is there who hasn’t chosen to be there. No one is in a hierarchy if they haven’t opted into that hierarchy. Signing the social contract to join a community is much like signing a contract to join a company: you view the docs, make an informed decision, and opt out if it doesn’t work. That right to exit is the fundamental right. (2) Second: not all existing laws are good laws, like the PATRIOT Act. Sunsetting *some* laws doesn’t mean you don’t believe in laws in the abstract. (3) Third: you likely have views on what your ideal community would be. Maybe it’s a vegan village. Maybe it’s modern Amish, where tech is paused at the level of flip phones and people enjoy each other’s company. If you ever decided to build such a peaceful, opt-in community, then we would support you. And that’s what startup societies are about.

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Best crypto protocol to do this. https://warpcast.com/balajis.eth/0xcc8e2029

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Pic related. Crypto resumes and crypto credentials can fix this.

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Yes. Just one brand. Farcaster app, Farcaster protocol, Farcaster X and Y and Z. Then when you get bigger people will learn the subtleties.

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