The past, present and future of human freedom is not determined in the macroverse but in the metaverse, and it is here where we must make our stand. First we will write the words to see the metaverse. Then we will write the songs to change it.
Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.
Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrative campaign.
The first actual rich person I ever met, I met at Wharton.
Same goes for the second, third and probably 100th, for that matter. At 17, I couldn’t have told you what a trust fund was, described what an investment banker did, or listed a single prestigious preparatory high school in the country. Life, as they say, comes at you fast.
So when this tweet from a Wharton professor went viral over the last 24 hours, I had to chuckle.
Why was this worth a chuckle? Couple of reasons. First, because the narrative that emerged from the tweet’s language – that rich students at an elite university are shockingly out of touch – is entirely consistent with my anecdotal experience. America’s elite universities are overflowing with some of the dumbest smart people you will ever meet. Strong Lucille Bluth guessing at the price of a banana energy.
The second reason I chuckled is that the narrative that emerged from the tweet had very little to do with its actual content. In fact, Dr. Strohminger went on to observe in the thread that she doesn’t think this is an unusual feature of these students at all, but rather the tendency of our individual estimates about population averages to be really, really bad.
What the tweet said is that 25% of students thought the mean income in America was over $100,000. A hundred grand is a really bad guess against the true number of $45-$50,000, but not wildly off relative to the average household income of $70-75,000 that some students probably had in their heads when they read the question. Figure that some of them probably thought they were being particularly clever by estimating greater skewness from income inequality pushing the mean above the more familiar median, and the 25% number giving an outlier answer is sort of worth a yawn in my book.
But what the tweet said doesn’t matter. How did it make us feel?
Even without intent on the part of the author, even without a fact pattern that supported it, the narrative that this was “about out-of-touch rich kids” resonated in all of our brains without a thought.
This, my friends, is our brains on meme and metaverse.
— Rusty Guinn | January 20, 2022
Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrative campaign.
I love West Side Story. In every form and in every retelling I love it. Now I could spend a few hours recapping the story, the historical and cultural significance of the 1961 and 2021 films, and the differences between the two. But let’s cut to the chase.
The Golden Globes were last night and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story won 3 very important awards. Best Musical or Comedy, Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, and Best Supporting Actress in any Motion Picture. While it is a little ridiculous that West Side Story is in a “comedy” category, the acting awards are really interesting. It sets up Rachel Zegler (Maria) and Ariana DeBose (Anita) as front runners for the upcoming Oscars. Both are in positions to follow in the footsteps of some incredible EGOT women.
If DeBose wins, she will follow Rita Moreno who won Best Supporting Actress for the role of Anita in 1961. Moreno was the first Latina to win an Oscar and went on to win the Triple Crown of Acting and achieve EGOT status. She also appeared in the 2021 film as Valentina and served as an executive producer.
If Zegler wins, she follows Barbra Streisand and Julie Andrews. If you don’t know who they are, you’re lying. This is Zegler’s first film role. Ever. Spielberg cast her when she was just 17. If she wins off of her debut film performance that’ll put her in the same list as Andrews in Mary Poppins (1965) and Streisand in Funny Girl (1969).
So keep an eye on the awards this year. Cause something’s coming….
— Harper Hunt | January 10, 2022|
Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrative campaign.
I want to change the language of crypto from mining to growing. I do not mean this in a metaphorical sense. I mean a proof-of-plant method for literally growing cryptocurrency tokens as a representation of the value stored in the human cultivation of plants.
What made Bitcoin special is nearly lost, and what remains is a false and constructed narrative that exists in service to Wall Street and Washington rather than in resistance.
The Bitcoin narrative must be renewed. And that will change everything.
Modeling common knowledge by analyzing missionary statements and their reverberations works. Except when it doesn’t.
ET Origins
Recent Notes
Narrative and Metaverse, Pt. 1: The Living Word
The past, present and future of human freedom is not determined in the macroverse but in the metaverse, and it is here where we must make our stand. First we will write the words to see the metaverse. Then we will write the songs to change it.
Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.
That Funny Feeling
The AI censors at YouTube banned a video by ET contributor Brent Donnelly for all the wrong reasons.
Meanwhile, the AI censors at Twitter won’t ban an impersonator for any reason.
Kinda gives you that funny feeling that we’re being played. Again.
Cursed Knowledge #7: Birkin Bags
Birkin bags are one of the ultimate symbols of status. But how did that happen? And are they worth the hype?
An Inconvenient Truce
Polarization often isn’t an accident. It is the result of intentional narrative construction – constructions designed to make us believe that we are sane and unfairly judged, and that our opponents are insane and hypocritical.
Understanding how to recognize and respond to these constructions in the wild is now an indispensable skill of the citizen.
RIP, Expertise
This is an unedited thread from the ET Forum that I’ve republished in close to its entirety and put outside the paywall. It’s just one example of why the ET Forum is the best thing on the Internet today … thousands of posts across hundreds of threads, written by truth-seekers from all over the world and all walks of life, speaking to each other with respect and curiosity. If this is your Pack, join us!
25 Anti-Mimetic Tactics for Living a Counter-Cultural Life
The social rewards that come from imitating others feel good, but they come at a high price.
Here are 25 Anti-Mimetic ideas that can help us craft a life that is a little more free from the herd, and a bit more open to the spontaneity and wonder of new things.
Inflation and the Common Knowledge Game
At whatever point in time you think inflation will start to fade, you are being too optimistic.
Why? Because common knowledge.
The Medium is the Message
Social media is not just a delivery mechanism for content.
The delivery of content through social media IS the content.
Defund the World Health Organization
Skipping the Greek letter Xi in naming the latest Covid variant is ridiculous, not dangerous.
What’s dangerous is WHO leadership placing Chinese political interests ahead of global health interests.
Critical State Theory
This note is about the narrative process that makes it so politically difficult to say that yes, parents are responsible for their children’s education AND yes, our children should be taught the fact of embedded racism in our nation’s history.
And why it’s so important that we do so, anyway.
Cursed Knowledge #6: F*ck Almonds
Move over Hollywood! Almonds are one of the most lucrative and fastest growing industries in California. Unfortunately they’re not as good for us as you’d think.
Prime Time in Crypto
No one gives a clearer explanation of how financial institutions work than ET contributor Marc Rubinstein, and his primer on prime brokerage services (and its extension into crypto) is no exception.
The NFL Has a Gambling Problem
The outcomes of NFL games are inordinately influenced by officials relative to other sports. This is not new. The narrative environment faced by the NFL in 2021, however, IS new.
I’m not sure they’re ready for it.
The Mandarin Class
I don’t think there’s anything illegal in how Fed governors trade their personal accounts.
No, I think it’s much worse than that.
When Narrative Takes Flight
We find ourselves together now at the stage of the Widening Gyre in which your political identity now determines the reality you wish to accept about three days of moderate operational difficulties at the ninth largest global airline, as measured by passenger-miles.
No Time to Die: China Banks Edition
With $300+ billion of assets, Evergrande is big, but if you want REALLY big, take a look at the balance sheets of Chinese banks.
ET contributor Marc Rubinstein was there at the beginning when Chinese banks went public, and he’s here now to review the sector.
How Lucky You Are To Be Alive Right Now
ET friend and contributor David Salem is back!
Here with his Constitution Day address at Middlebury College, David makes the rich tradition of academic speeches richer still, with nods to the Founders and Vitalik Buterin alike.
The Uncontained Spark
There is an uncontained spark in the financial world today, a spark that emerged from the unlikeliest of places, a federal courthouse in Florida.
It’s a spark with the potential to light a searing bonfire under Robinhood and Citadel.
#BITFD
Zeroism and the Allocator Status Quo
ET contributor Matthew Edwards pushes back on seven rules that allocators often apply to new managers.
1) We don’t do crypto.
2) We only invest in what we know.
3) We never pay full fees.
4) We prefer fundamental investment strategies.
5) We seek strong alignment of interests.
6) We cannot be greater than x% of a fund’s total assets under management.
7) We require a minimum track record of X years.
Unanchored
ET contributor Brent Donnelly starts up where he left off, with a new launch of AM/FX and a new riff on the classic ET note, “Snip!”.
In the immortal words of Hunter S. Thompson, when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!
Recent major media stories that feel to us like they’re part of a larger narrative campaign.
The first actual rich person I ever met, I met at Wharton.
Same goes for the second, third and probably 100th, for that matter. At 17, I couldn’t have told you what a trust fund was, described what an investment banker did, or listed a single prestigious preparatory high school in the country. Life, as they say, comes at you fast.
So when this tweet from a Wharton professor went viral over the last 24 hours, I had to chuckle.
Why was this worth a chuckle? Couple of reasons. First, because the narrative that emerged from the tweet’s language – that rich students at an elite university are shockingly out of touch – is entirely consistent with my anecdotal experience. America’s elite universities are overflowing with some of the dumbest smart people you will ever meet. Strong Lucille Bluth guessing at the price of a banana energy.
The second reason I chuckled is that the narrative that emerged from the tweet had very little to do with its actual content. In fact, Dr. Strohminger went on to observe in the thread that she doesn’t think this is an unusual feature of these students at all, but rather the tendency of our individual estimates about population averages to be really, really bad.
What the tweet said is that 25% of students thought the mean income in America was over $100,000. A hundred grand is a really bad guess against the true number of $45-$50,000, but not wildly off relative to the average household income of $70-75,000 that some students probably had in their heads when they read the question. Figure that some of them probably thought they were being particularly clever by estimating greater skewness from income inequality pushing the mean above the more familiar median, and the 25% number giving an outlier answer is sort of worth a yawn in my book.
But what the tweet said doesn’t matter. How did it make us feel?
Even without intent on the part of the author, even without a fact pattern that supported it, the narrative that this was “about out-of-touch rich kids” resonated in all of our brains without a thought.
This, my friends, is our brains on meme and metaverse.
— Rusty Guinn | January 20, 2022