This site gives me space to record and develop my thoughts on topics that are important to me. [[Writing as externalized thinking | Externalizing my thought process in writing]] allows me to dissect my thinking and improve my writing. My notes will always be a work-in-progress, because I am continually learning new things and also finding better ways to express my thoughts. Here are some of the topics I am most interested in: - finding purpose - decision making - belief formation - investing & socioeconomics - Banking and DeFi ### Finding Purpose At a very basic level [[The Human Imperative|the human imperative is to survive and prosper]]. There are many different ways to achieve these two objectives, especially [[What is human prosperity?| prosperity which itself is very vague]] You can think of prosperity in terms of material wealth and in terms of fulfillment (your ego, spiritual fulfillment and emotional wellbeing). For people to achieve fulfillment it's important for them to [[Finding a sense of purpose|find a sense of purpose]] that motivates them. Living up to that ideological standard is what gives them fulfillment. We need to find balance between survival, material prosperity and spiritual prosperity. Every person has different needs, preferences, access to resources and problems. To achieve their 'human imperative' they need to make good decisions about how to allocate those resources. ### Decision Making Framework To make good decisions, everyone needs a [[Framework for analysis and decision-making]]. We combine this framework with domain specific knowledge to allow us to make our decisions. Making good decisions is about understanding the core objective, having true beliefs about the world around you, and finding a path to realizing the objective. I am interested in how [[Belief systems]] and [[Belief Formation]] connect to the decision making process, and to the purpose we give ourselves. This is tightly coupled to research on [[Rationality and the Reflective Mind]] which allows us to interrupt and re-evaluate our 'strategies'. Cognitive reflection and rationality are also related to meditation. Most of the big decisions we make are socioeconomic (such as allocation of resources and time) , which also means that [[All People are Investors]]. ### Investing An [[Investment Framework]] is an extension of the decision making framework. At a fundamental level, [[markets are about human interactions]]. An investment framework combines decision making with an understanding of the [[Research on The Dynamics of Society|dynamics of society and economics.]] ### Banking and DeFi Banking is one of the most misunderstood industries. The purpose of the banking industry is to provide liquid capital backed by illiquid assets (like land, mortgages, IP and reputation). To understand banking in it's rawest form you have to understand [[Free Banking]] . There was an era across a few countries when there was no central bank. Creating banks was permissionless, decentralized and competitive. We are now in the era of central banking, but [[DeFi is recreating free banking]].