notes Fungibility FungibilityA set of things is fungible if items are interchangeable: it doesn't matter which one of the set you own. Dollars are fungible, standard Snickers bars are fungible, the gas you put in your car is fungible. Most things are not fungible. Real estate is non-fungible: you can easily distinguish
notes NFT NFT (Non-Fungible° Token)OverviewAn NFT is a representation of ownership. Technically, on the Ethereum blockchain, an NFT is defined by the contract ID and the ID of the NFT within that contract. NFTs make digital goods scarce. Even though Information wants to be free -- meaning any information (a song,
notes Optionality is useless without an end goal Optionality° is useless without an end goalOptionality° is instrumentally valuable, but terminally useless. It only makes sense in service of a goal. A life that ends with all options open, is a life with zero options realised and all options wasted.
notes Commitment reduces overhead Commitment° reduces overheadIf you're keeping all options° open, you spend a lot of time picking between them on an ongoing basis. You're constantly re-evaluating: should I continue with the current one, or try to find another? Commitment° avoids that. For example, in a monogamous Marriage you commit yourself sexually and
notes Exponential commitment To make it easier to find the appropriate quitting time, use an exponentially increasing commitment schedule. First, work for period t. When that period is over, commit° to either quit, or to work for a period of 2t. Then, 4t, 8t, and so forth.
notes Commitment is a choice Commitment° is a choiceIf you don't think about it, you might think commitment is something external to you: that it sort of happens by itself (once you're in a relationship long enough, once you work somewhere long enough, etc). It is a choice (though you might not want to choose
notes Commitment is valuable for your partner Commitment° is valuable for your partnerA partner that can commit -- romantically, in business, or otherwise -- is much more valuable than one that cannot. There's even an adjective for a person who is unwilling to commit: flaky. A partner that can commit helps reduces Variance, i.e. make the
notes Commitment is a prerequisite Commitment° is a prerequisiteSometimes, advance commitment is necessary. If you want to bake a cake you need to purchase the ingredients before you start baking, which is a form of pre-commitment. In professional life, you often not only need to be committed, but have to show it as well. People
notes Commitment feels good Commitment° feels goodTo have committed° to an action, especially in service of others, can be meaningful personally.
notes Optionality OptionalityHolding an option means you can choose a course of action later. It's the opposite of Commitment°. Optionality is useless without an end goal°
notes Commitment CommitmentCommitting is wilfully constraining your future. The opposite of commitment is Optionality°. You either have to do X or you have the option to do X. (If you have to do not-X, that is also a commitment.) The "Maybe" button is much easier to click in response to a Facebook