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Gradual Daily 68  📈

To: Gradually's OGs
February 10, 2021
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Strivers Forever

[Image source: u/caydeisdumb]
Cheers to the newly subscribed OGs🧃

Hello Hello! You already know the deal: late issues of Gradual Daily means the content I’ve curated below is guaranteed to be mind-benders. Even when Gradual Daily isn’t late, I still try to curate the most valuable links from across the interwebs, but late arrivals always call for a little bit of extra spice. Hope you enjoy! 

 

If you’re new here, welcome! Below you’ll find 3 pieces of valuable curated content that aim to make you wiser, wealthier, and healthier  — gradually (aka your daily dose of digital vitamins).

You can find all previous issues here, all previous curated content organized/archived here, and if you aren’t subscribed yet — you can do so here.

Wisdom
1mg • consume content below with care for full effect
[Image source: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases]
The speed of science  by Saloni Dattani & Nathaniel Bechhofer

Takeaways

I highly suggest consuming the full piece here (13  min. read time)

“By and large, scientific research is published in journals in the form of papers – static documents that do not update with new data or new methods. Instead of sharing the data and the code that produces their results, most scientists simply publish a textual description of their research in online publications. These publications are usually hidden behind paywalls, making it harder for outsiders to verify their authenticity.” — Dattani & Bechhofer

“…a researcher who cites a study that itself derives its data or assumptions from prior research that has been disputed, corrected or retracted. The longer it takes to sift through the science, to identify which results are accurate, the longer it takes to gather an understanding of scientific knowledge.” — Dattani & Bechhofer

“The process of error correction – from scientists publishing a paper, to readers spotting errors, to having the paper corrected or retracted – can take years, assuming those errors are spotted at all.” — Dattani & Bechhofer

“The lack of transparency lends itself to misconduct – reviewers may discourage the publishing of science that challenges the prevailing consensus of the time or fails to replicate it – and hype, encouraging the publication of results that seem exciting over those that provide nuance.” — Dattani & Bechhofer

“When non-scientists, who want to apply scientific knowledge elsewhere, read research, they have little way of knowing which methods are sound and which results are reproducible or replicable.” — Dattani & Bechhofer

How to fix it: Interactive online documents, robustness checks/multiverse analysis, learn/maintain the new skills needed for these new organizational methods, automating parts of the process, division of labor, and 3rd party red teams. 

“Many critics of open science contend that radical reform asks too much of researchers, but this kind of specialization would fill two needs with one deed: it would reduce the burden of work placed on each individual researcher while increasing the quality and quantity of science conducted by researchers overall.” — Dattani & Bechhofer

My two cents: I’ve really been enjoying the pieces I’ve curated around technological progress, the great stagnation, and science. For someone who has never gone past surface-level school assignments/textbooks, learning about how modern science’s stagnation and rejuvenation is nuts. It seems like this issue (especially in the sciences) is close to reaching its climax of transformation into these new logistical/team-like dynamics that will help science progress faster. I think? 

 



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Wealth
1mg • consume content below with care for full effect
[Image source: OpenSea]
The Non-Fungible Token Bible: Everything you need to know about NFTs  by Devin Finzer

Takeaways

I highly suggest consuming the full piece here (31 min. read time)

“Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are unique, digital items with blockchain-managed ownership.” — Devin Finzer

“Blockchains provide a coordination layer for digital assets, giving users ownership and management permission. Blockchains add several unique properties to non-fungible assets that change the user and developer relationships with these assets.” — Devin Finzer

“…before cryptocurrencies emerged, we’ve had non-fungible digital assets since the dawn of the internet. Domain names, event tickets, in-game items, even handles on social networks like Twitter or Facebook, are all non-fungible digital assets; they just vary in their tradeability, liquidity, and interoperability.” — Devin Finzer

“Non-fungible token standards allow non-fungible tokens to move easily across multiple ecosystems. When a developer launches a new NFT project, these NFTs are immediately viewable inside dozens of different wallet providers, tradeable on marketplaces, and, most recently, displayable inside of virtual worlds.” — Devin Finzer

“Instant tradability of non-fungible tokens will lead to higher liquidity. NFT marketplaces can cater to a variety of audiences—from hardcore traders to more novice players—allowing for greater exposure of the assets to a wider pool of buyers.” — Devin Finzer 

“NFTs are currently sold primarily for [Ethereum]  on decentralized exchanges. Surprisingly little trading happens in stablecoins like DAI or USDC, likely due to the friction of acquiring stablecoins.” — Devin Finzer 

My two cents: The rise of NFTs is very real. If you’re on Twitter at all or if you’re like me and pretty much live on Twitter, you know NFTs are all the rage for musicians, influencers, and digital artists. I still don’t fully understand what NFTs are, but this piece gave me another step closer to grasping it. I also recommended another NFT piece a few weeks ago that was phenomenal. You can find that here.

 



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Health
1mg • consume content below with care for full effect
[Image source: More To That]
The Staircase of the Self  by Lawrence Yeo

Takeaways

I highly suggest consuming the full piece here (30 min. read time)

“The survival of the self is reliant upon interactions with others, so the shaping of their identity depends on who is there to provide for them regularly.” — Lawrence Yeo

From Inferiority → Self-Esteem: “…t its core, self-esteem is about having the confidence to solve problems on your own accord. And the way you do this is by regularly facing challenges that stretch the boundaries of your mind, which in turn shatter and update the preexisting models you had of the world.” — Lawrence Yeo

From Self-Esteem → Pride: “Pride is an overcorrection to our fragility in confidence. It’s a staunch attachment to an identity, regardless of what may or may not be true. It’s our way of saying “screw you” to anything that flies in the face of our deeply-held beliefs, no matter how sound those arguments may be.” — Lawrence Yeo

  • “Like status, pride appears to embody a powerful sense of self, but in reality, it’s all an illusion. In the same way that joy and suffering are two sides of one coin, so too are pride and fear. To be proud of anything is to fear its loss, and this attachment is what makes this step such a fragile place to stand.” — Lawrence Yeo

From Pride → Self-Actualization: “…self-actualization must come purely from within, free from the gaze of cultural expectations. It is only through an honest audit of your interests and curiosities that will reveal what makes you feel truly alive, and what will dissolve all notions of identity you’ve developed over time.” — Lawrence Yeo

Self-Actualization → No Self: “The irony of the self is that in order to lose it, you have to know it well. In our default state, we don’t know who we are because the self moves along the tide of circumstance. The wind of emotion blows it one way, the current of happenstance takes it elsewhere. This makes us perpetually confused, resulting in a disconnect between who we think we are, and who we know we want to be.” — Lawrence Yeo

My two cents: If you’re looking for a mind-bender 9000, look no further. This is the piece for you. Who are you? Who am I? Our sense of self is based on so many different aspects of our lives. I always thought that the most prominent reflection of our sense of self is the people who we are close to. This piece reinforced that belief and then further diversified it. 

 



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