The Connection Newsletter 13 - Mortgage

The Connection Newsletter 13 - It can all go to zero

June 25, 2018

Hello!

This is edition #13 of The Connection, the weekly email I send family, friends, and future friends (hello!) I hope you’re having a nice Monday.

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First, the 6 things I wish I knew before buying a house. Growing up I wanted to live in a RV (still do, if I’m honest). I never thought I’d look for a house or apply for a mortgage. So closing on a house was a surreal experience. These were my most important takeaways.Next, the articles for this week: I’ve been meaning to do a deep dive into cryptocurrency for awhile, but wanted to wait until the hype (and aftermath of the subsequent crash) died down. There are three challenges I see with learning about cryptocurrency: Challenge one, someone chugs the kool aid, reads articles to confirm their bias, and invests, hoping to make a quick score. I saw and heard this in the locker room of my gym. Not good. Challenge two, someone already harbors doubts about cryptocurrency looks for articles to confirm their bias. They read articles about how Bitcoin is scam, and due to cognitive dissonance are never able to reverse their opinion.In both instances, we’re headline reading without understanding what’s going on. Which leads to:Challenge three, cryptocurrency is freaking hard to understand, yet we attempt to dive into technical white papers complex Medium articles right way. This is insane. We (I) struggle to finish a 60-second Tasty video, yet we (I) think it’s possible to understand the nuances to double-spend problem in a single sitting? We’re skipping steps. We need a different approach, one where we first develop an interest in the topic, an understanding of the implications, and then an understanding of the technology.This approach really came to life when listening to Naval Ravikant, CEO of Angelist, on Shane Parrish’s podcast. Mr. Ravikant shared his secret to becoming a voracious reader:He started with comic books. That’s what he liked, and he read any he could get his hands on. Comic books led to him reading mysteries, which led to science fiction, which in turn led to science, then philosophy. If someone told him not to read comic books (the proverbial “junk food” of literature) he’d never have developed his love for reading. I think that’s the approach we should take to learning:

  • Interest - What’s the juiciest, more sensational story that gets you asking more questions?

  • Implication - What’s it mean for you tomorrow and 10 years from now?  

  • Technical understanding - How does it work?

With that, here are five sources -- and the order to consume them -- I’d recommend if you’re interested in learning more about cryptocurrency:

. Cryptocurrency (bitcoin specifically) plays a small role in the story, but it reads like a thriller and gets at some of the more illicit uses of cryptocurrency.

. There’s no better way to start understanding the implications of cryptocurrency tomorrow and 10 years from now then this podcast. Patrick does a terrific job of interviewing Adam and getting him to talk about cryptocurrency in everyday language.  

. This is an open letter Adam Ludwin wrote to Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase. It touches on many of the same points in the podcast, but makes you think more critically to internalize the concepts.

Favorite quote:

“Cryptocurrencies are a new asset class that enable decentralized applications.If this is true, your point of view on cryptocurrencies has very little to do with what you think about them in comparison to traditional currencies or securities, and everything to do with your opinion of decentralized applications and their value relative to current software models.”

. Another podcast, hosted by Nat Eliason and Neil Soni, with guests Taylor Pearson and Adil Majid. It meanders from the history of cryptocurrency, to the types and forms, benefits and detriments.

. Satoshi Nakamoto’s original white paper on Bitcoin, when you’re ready to start expanding your technical understanding of cryptocurrency.

Thanks for reading!

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