Devin Baker

When people make unconventional decisions, it often feels like they are measured to another standard than those who follow the default script. If you do the normal thing and it fails you, then it isn’t your fault; it’s the system. But if you do an unconventional thing, even small, normal setbacks are read as proof of your foolishness. When a normal... See more

Yet history keeps proving that permanence eventually invites productivity.

A good hint to the presence of leverage is the possibility of failure. Upside must be balanced by downside, so if there is big potential for gain there must also be a terrifying possibility of loss. CEOs, stars, fund managers, and athletes all live with the sword hanging over their heads; the moment they start to suck, they're out. If you're in a... See more

Therefore, what we get out of life is not determined by the good feelings we desire, but by what bad feelings we’re willing and able to sustain to get us to those good feelings.

Finally, I want to double-click on a point we touched on earlier – new token issuance used for incentive programs. While we don’t see this on most of the major L1s (e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana), we do tend to see this at significant scale on L2s. Unlike L1s using issuance to incentivize token holders to stake rather than hold idly, these... See more

legible vs. meaningful

If you build a society that worships at the legibility altar then you eventually find yourself surrounded by people and products that are easily understood but impossible to love or that don’t evoke any kind of emotion.

Currently, gold is valued at $42.22/oz on the American balance sheet. Technically speaking, the Treasury issues a gold certificate to the US Federal Reserve (Fed), which the Treasury values at $42.22/oz. Suppose Bessent can convince the US Congress to change the statutory price of gold, thus devaluing the dollar vs. gold. In that case, the... See more

Technologies like Ethernet, Internet Protocol, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, and Universal Serial Bus are among the key communication standards of our day. Of those, USB is the youngest at 28 years, while some of the others on that list are over 50 years old and still going strong. When a protocol wins out over competition in its adoption phase,... See more

AI can imitate outputs. It can predict patterns. It can accelerate execution. But it can’t carry moral weight. It can’t love. It can’t repent. It can’t take responsibility. It can’t look another human in the eye and choose courage over approval. It can’t suffer with someone. It can’t forgive. It can’t be faithful. And it can’t answer the question... See more