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#05 - Prompt & Pray

#05 - Prompt & Pray

Paul Paul (guest) Mar 18, 2025 1:48:18

"What should the next iteration of the internet look like?"

In this dialogue:

  • Paul and his awesome nostr t-shirt
  • Are we all just nostalgic?
  • Where did the optimism of computing and the information superhighway go?
  • We went from interop to pay-to-unlock.
  • Do we have to live in the digital gulags forever?
  • Homecooked meals and homecooked apps
  • Paper straws and the downfall of Western Civilization
  • "You need to be okay with people getting rekt"
  • If the car would be introduced today, it would be illegal
  • Bravery and personal responsibility
  • "nostr will only be what diehards will build it to be"
  • Bad teleology is built into the current (non-nostr) app landscape
  • "You can get a lot of the upside without holding your own keys”
  • “...but you can't get ALL of the upside!"
  • Expressiveness and free speech online
  • Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Assembly, and Financial Freedom in Cyberspace
  • Self-publishing vs platform publishing
  • Information calories. Can we count them?
  • Don't make me think!
  • Is not being forced to think part of the problem?
  • Mutiny & bitcoin UX that's too easy
  • Games and costly mistakes
  • The early days: software distribution via print magazines
  • Prompting allows you to define your own teleology
  • Vibe coding and Cursor
  • "The hard part is to figure out what you want."
  • "What should the next iteration of the internet look like?"
  • GenZ doesn't know shit about files and folders
  • Why files are great
  • Gigi's SyncThing & Standard Notes setup
  • File-based apps like Smart AudioBook Player
  • Reading apps like Pocket, Instapaper, and Readwise Reader
  • Saving all the things & linking stuff together
  • Clips of podcasts and videos, e.g. Fountain
  • A Commonplace Book to cyberspace
  • Creating a "Family Bible" app
  • If you want to maximize profits in the attention economy, you have to get users addicted
  • (Zaps potentially fix this, as you wouldn’t zap a car crash )
  • Let computers do computer work, let humans be humans
  • "The end is not being on the computer"
  • Solo private / group private / public
  • Liberal vs Conservative sentiment in social environments
  • Whom to care about?
  • Web of trust & our understanding of it
  • Forgiveness, Trust, and Repeat Games
  • Tit-for-tat and forgiving tit-for-tat
  • Three strikes and you're out!
  • "Choose your gulag" is the alternative to nostr
  • 7-generation thinking
  • 2140
  • The Sovereign Individual is embedded in a social structure, always
  • I, Pencil
  • Jungle vs Civilization
  • Fiat = because I said so (“Fiat Lux” - Let there be light )
  • Do we need leaders in bitcoin?
  • Peterson Fallacy / God vs Bitcoin
  • Jesus early followers were the Followers of The Way
  • Zaps are not payments
  • Zaps are not " tips "
  • Bitstein & Pierre: The Reorg
  • Vervaeke: “ Where do you go for wisdom?
  • Rough consensus and Pieter Wuille
  • "There is no such thing as a leaderless system"
  • Wisdom in cyberspace
  • Can we build wise tools?
  • Prompting the Bible, ChristGPT , and Bible Slop
  • Gell-Mann amnesia effect
  • Vervaekes AI argument: The Coming Thresholds and The Path We Must Take
  • Where do new ideas come from?
  • Sandwich prompting style ( HLDD / LLDD )
  • The Tale of John Henry
  • Silicon Sages
  • Conscience and The Muse
  • Hypermedia and HyperNote
  • Glassholes , Google Glasses, and wearable technology
  • Prompting & Praying for An Internet Worth Having

Books mentioned:

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