AHWhite

Author of "Walking Banks", a bitcoin novel.
https://www.walkingbanks.com/

Listen to it for free on Fountain: https://fountain.fm/album/JYWZOPSrol8fvWpjNt8q

Neurobiologist, scientist, bitcoiner.

Public Key

npub1c2rvx6ue9uewl452kczcfxz9w242sfzn64ul8dv2afd3t5dpktzs0kmmvf

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsv9pkrdwvj7vh0669tvpvynpzh924gy3fa270nkk9w5kc46xsm93gpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsndrm4m

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1c2rvx6ue9uewl452kczcfxz9w242sfzn64ul8dv2afd3t5dpktzs0kmmvf

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Last Notes

2025-11-21 09:47:22 GMT

So far, no one has discovered or deduced the access to the bitcoin wallet that is hidden in my book Walking Banks...so here a new hint for those that want to give it a try:
- Did you know that word repetitions are actually allowed in a seed phrase?
#books #reading #bitcoin #treasurehunt

2025-09-24 12:17:03 GMT

Fantastic news for Huntington's Disease patients:
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/09/24/3155348/0/en/uniQure-Announces-Positive-Topline-Results-from-Pivotal-Phase-I-II-Study-of-AMT-130-in-Patients-with-Huntington-s-Disease.html
36 month data from Uniqure trial shows a strong slowdown of disease progression for all measures. For the first time, we seem to have a treatment that can really treat this devastating brain disorder.
#science #brain #medicine #positivenews #huntington

2025-08-12 07:48:49 GMT

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Thanks Chris for the opportunity to drop my book here:
"Walking Banks" is a bitcoin thriller with a hidden real bitcoin wallet inside.
When a high-ranking U.S. Embassy official is killed in Beijing, seasoned security officer Jack Decker is reluctantly dragged back into action to unravel the mystery. Teaming up with Zheng Lei, a prodigious Beijing police officer, he uncovers a startling link between the murders and the disappearance of Liang Wei, a business tycoon who publicly opposed China's Central Bank Digital Currency before vanishing into thin air.
https://www.walkingbanks.com/

2025-08-12 07:44:10 GMT

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nope, still there. When I look up the address on a desktop it shows the existing balance correctly. Not sure why it doesn't on mobile. Will look into it.
https://blossom.primal.net/83916334fe18778238fbfd1863e0c38b020f66d435e35b209a104d4b500d6e75.jpg

2025-08-06 10:31:52 GMT

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Hm...weird. I don't think it has been discovered because there are no transaction connected to the address for some reasons (also not my original transactions to "load up" the wallet). I'm traveling and just with my phone this week so unfortunately I cannot check in more detail this week but will report back once I have full access again.

2025-07-26 07:55:13 GMT

A confession:
I rarely post anymore on Nostr because of two reasons:
A) I'm a pretty private and introverted person and never saw the need nor desire to share my everyday thoughts with the world.
B) I still struggle to find interesting posts & people to follow on Nostr to be honest. When I joined I tried to find interesting discussion and exchange around science, consciousness, pharma,etc and also posted in that direction but failed.
I am still trying to figure out how to get more engaged on Nostr and try to contribute more to the network (e.g. see having my book and audiobook for free on nostr/fountain) but it should come naturally and as an enjoyable experience. Nkt feel like work or pulling teeth. To be honest, the twitter algorithm works very well for this purpose (follow some relevant accounts,block some annoying ones and set up some keywords you don't want to see and my Twitter feed is full of interesting posts and news that are relevant to my interests)

2025-07-15 12:11:52 GMT

Yes, I know it is because it is free on Kindle right now but I must admit I am quite proud that my bitcoin thriller 'Walking Banks' is #1 in the financial category on Amazon right now (and surprisingly in Monetary Policy as well).

2025-06-29 06:06:29 GMT

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Thank you!

2025-06-27 07:33:24 GMT

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Hi Latricia, not yet. I've just now only finally managed to get it out on Audible so I'll wait and see what the reach is.

2025-06-27 07:32:48 GMT

Finally, my bitcoin novel "Walking Banks" is available on Audible and as an audiobook on Amazon:
https://amazon.com/Walking-Banks-A-Bitcoin-Thriller/dp/B0FFHLJKCS/
https://www.audible.com/pd/Walking-Banks-Audiobook/B0FFHMX6T8
(you can still listen to it on Fountain of course as well)
#bitcoin
#books
#novel
#nostr

2025-06-02 07:36:31 GMT

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Thanks again for the encouraging words. A first hint would be that it is a 24 word seed phrase but I think I mentioned this before, didn't I?

2025-05-30 13:03:09 GMT

Follow-up on the #Zapvertising experiment!
11 days ago I made a Zapvertising post to promote my Bitcoin novel "Walking Banks" here on Nostr.
Here’s a little update on how it went and if it was worth it:
Short answer: Yes... but not quite in the way I expected.
From a commercial or distribution angle, frankly speaking, it was a disappointment.
I zapped 28.000 Sats. The results 11 days later are: 2 book sales that I can trace back to this experiment, no audiobook sales, and no Sats earned on Fountain streaming. Wavlake stats tells me that 4 people streamed the full audiobook by now so some little interest was there but nobody used sats on Fountain to support it. And just to be clear, I was not expecting big earnings and I am absolutely fine with it. As mentioned in earlier posts, both the audiobook and ebook are free to read or stream for those interested.
But I was honestly hoping that the audiobook/book finds more interest and that the concept might reach further, especially since the book hides a real Bitcoin seed phrase that leads to a wallet with 800,000 sats in it. So in that regard I must admit, these total numbers are disappointing and might reflect that the book and story is not as interesting to people as I had hoped it would be.
However, in terms of reach and response? That’s where it worked.
72 reposts from a pretty diverse bunch of nostriches which is much more than I imagined. Even more important for me: every single comment was kind, encouraging, and genuinely supportive. That meant a lot to me. So thanks to everyone who commented or reposted!
So what I’ve learned about Zapvertising so far:
I'll probably try another round but with a tighter focus. Reposts are great, but it makes a difference whether the reposter has 5 or 5,000 followers. Might look into targeting more precisely, or using a Zapvertising service to dial in the reach.
Still experimenting. Still learning. Still zapping.
And if you’re curious, the treasure is still out there...
https://www.walkingbanks.com
#bitcoin
#books
#novel
#story
#art
#zapvertising
#nostr

2025-05-26 12:06:53 GMT

Artifical blood to go into clinical trial:
https://mededgemea.com/japan-to-begin-clinical-trials-for-artificial-blood-in-2025/
https://chem.naramed-u.ac.jp/ENGLISH_PAGE/e_invest_blood.html
A Japanese team is advancing artificial blood (hemoglobin here as the key component) into the clinic for testing. It's based on using "expired" normal blood so not the full package yet but considering the ever present shortage of blood-donations, if this works, this could be a start for future breakthroughs for clinical reality. Still a long way to go from here as it doesn't generate the artificial blood "from scratch" & doesn't address the other functions blood has besides the O2 transport but it's an interesting start.

2025-05-25 07:29:20 GMT

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Not really dire warning. NB181 is not believed to cause more severe infections or symptoms, just that it might be more easily transmissable. So one might be more likely to catch it but given that anyone pretty much had covid by now and/or is vaccinated, apart maybe again for the most vulnerable population, there should be no reason for concern.

2025-05-24 19:51:36 GMT

Interesting cyborg-modification reported in Cell:
https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(25)00454-4
"Near-infrared spatiotemporal color vision in humans enabled by upconversion contact lenses"
#science #cyborg

2025-05-24 19:17:25 GMT

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Thank you!

2025-05-24 19:16:34 GMT

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Thanks Latrica for the nice feedback!🫡

2025-05-20 17:47:20 GMT

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It rarely happens but if it does, no, I don't finish it.

2025-05-20 17:46:10 GMT

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Thanks,glad to hear you enjoyed it at least.

2025-05-20 16:56:01 GMT

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https://blossom.primal.net/07bb7f84bc6a95bae306d08de1174942884b1372c05671316c37239e5ef67b3a.jpg

2025-05-20 07:40:09 GMT

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Thanks. Yeah, it's been quite a long journey to get everything to this stage.

2025-05-20 05:57:59 GMT

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Hi folks...thank you all for commenting and reposting. I realized a "flaw" in how these posts and reposts are tracked and if/how I am aware of your reposts or comments. This reply threads and the comments are all done under a repost of my original post, so I was not aware (no notification in Primal) of neither your posts nor comments from this particular thread. Wonder if there is a way to get notified of these more indirect connections to an original post so that tracking this gets easier 🤔 ?

2025-05-20 05:51:38 GMT

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Hi Cristalina, I looked into it since your repost didn't appear in my notifications at all. You indeed didn't repost the original post but made a repost of the repost which also came after the first 35 reposts were done already. Sorry. But let me zap you a little bit anyway, thanks for your engagement and help in spreading my post !

2025-05-19 20:14:24 GMT

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Thank you

2025-05-19 18:03:38 GMT

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And of course a big shout out to the fantastic Adrian M Lopez who is not onlybthe great narrator of the audiobook but also gave me the idea for the Zapvertising: https://primal.net/p/nprofile1qqsyqxz5h0qpgn706yq5suy46s9watklt4nt9skzrk632nmmyvn6ewqphrcmq

2025-05-19 18:01:12 GMT

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Wow,thanks everyone for commentingand reposting. That was quick! I've sent out all sats according to how my primal app showed me the order of the first 35 reposts, so I hope everyone is covered 🙏

2025-05-19 17:59:07 GMT

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It's 24 words...if the wallet is not emptied after some time, I'll start dropping some hints from time to time

2025-05-19 15:42:47 GMT

Giveaway 1,000 sats for the next 20 reposts, 500 for the next 15!
I'm doing a Zapvertising experiment to promote my bitcoin novel „Walking Banks“ / https://www.walkingbanks.com on Nostr and test if one can broaden an audience this way .
In addition to the Zapvertisment Zaps you can unlock 800000 sats:
If your up for a treasure hunt, the book contains a real Bitcoin seed phrase hidden within the story. So if you can piece the right string of words together, it leads to a wallet with 800000 sats in it. No funny business, all real. The first one to figure it out gets the bitcoin.
The book is out as on audiobook, e-book and print on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Banks-Mystery-Novel-White/dp/B0DCNZLV6H) so go and check it out.
Also, if you're using Nostr you can listen to the audiobook for free on Fountain (fountain.fm/album/JYWZOPSrol8fvWpjNt8q) or search for „Walking Banks“ in the music section.
Otherwise the audiobook is also available now on Spotify, Apple Books, Google play, Kobo, and pretty much everywhere else too.
#bitcoin #books #novel #story #art #zapvertising #nostr

2025-05-18 20:27:44 GMT

Is ChatGTP just a human with a brain disorder?
"Comparison of Large Language Model with Aphasia" paper outlining that there is "a surprising similarity between the way large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT process information and how the brains of people with Wernicke’s aphasia function. In both cases, fluent but often incoherent output is produced, suggesting rigid internal processing patterns that can distort meaning."
https://neurosciencenews.com/ai-aphasia-llms-28956/
https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/advs.202414016
#llm #ai #chatgtp #science #brain

2025-05-15 20:10:45 GMT

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Thanks for the nice words, it's been a great experience working with you on this!

2025-05-15 20:08:57 GMT

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Thanks,hope you enjoy the story

2025-05-15 13:26:16 GMT

I'm really excited to share that my Bitcoin Novel „Walking Banks“ is now out as an audiobook!
https://blossom.primal.net/f541775ac6c4bd7a07cac567bbc5a748bc84ecf4877e7f76ba0e1c2fb986e442.jpg
It’s been a wild ride getting this story out into the world, and hearing it come alive through the voice of Adrian Lopez, @adrianmlopez (who absolutely nailed the narration) has been surreal.
If you're using Nostr (and since you are reading this you are), you can listen to the audiobook for free on Fountain (fountain.fm/album/JYWZOPSrol8fvWpjNt8q) or search for „Walking Banks“ in the music section.
Otherwise the audiobook is also available now on Spotify, Apple Books, Google play, Kobo, and pretty much everywhere else too... I just cannot get it placed on audible yet but am working on it.
Also…I hid something inside the book: The information for a real Bitcoin seed phrase can be found across the story that leads to a wallet with 0.008 BTC in it. Yep, it’s real. The first one to figure it out gets the treasure.
More info is up at walkingbanks.com. I would love for you to check it ouvand if you do, let me know what you think.
#bitcoin #books #novel #story #art

2025-05-14 09:06:25 GMT

Fianlly some progress in ALS research, the disease that took Hal Finney's life.
A new ALS clinical phase 2b study shows promising data: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00262-4/fulltext
It doesn't look like much but if this survival data holds up in a phase 3, this would be the first new treatment option for ALS patients that can meaningfully slow down their disease progression (look at figure 2 c,d). Fingers crossed!
https://blossom.primal.net/706c3df684187b8abe2219370392b3f30f7a0e5148cb54c87fb94497bb49fd3e.jpg

2025-05-14 08:36:41 GMT

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Thanks Adrian! Only saw I took a longer time out from most internet activity...an Easter digital detox. Now back and catching up on things.

2025-04-04 18:24:52 GMT

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My dog doesn't approve

2025-03-02 16:49:02 GMT

#bitcoin
https://m.primal.net/PRMY.jpg

2024-12-26 19:25:06 GMT

It was dark, the moon shone bright,
the green meadow was covered in snow,
when a carriage sped by lightning-fast,
slowly turning the corner.
Inside, people were standing seated,
deep in silent conversation,
when a shot rabbit
went ice-skating on the sandy bank.
And a blond-haired young man
with coal-black hair
sat on a green box,
which was painted red.
Next to him, an old spinster,
barely sixteen years old,
held a butter roll in her hand,
which was smeared with lard.
#poetry

2024-12-24 07:03:41 GMT

Good Morning and Merry Christmas !
#nostr

2024-12-18 07:44:16 GMT

Another unfortunate clinical trial failure for a CNS indication (Parkinson). All primary and secondary endpoints were missed:
https://www.ucb.com/newsroom/press-releases/article/findings-from-minzasolmin-proof-of-concept-orchestra-study-shape-next-steps-in-ucb-parkinson-s-research-program
#science #parkinson #neurodegeneration #brain

2024-12-10 21:32:42 GMT

This is really interesting:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02046-9
"Large language models surpass human experts in predicting neuroscience results"
A study on how well trained LLMs can predict the "correctness" of a new neuroscience study/claim based on looking into the associations of the mentioned claims/words in the new study compared to a reference set of thousands of previously published neuroscience papers. The idea here is that there are associations hidden in the vast amount of literature out there that humans in general and singular scientists in particular just cannot read, remember, grasp and comprehend anymore due to the exponential growth in studies.
Importantly all thus trained LLMs outperform a large panel of human expert in predicting whether or not a new study or a fake study is true.
This is really fascinating and could have major implications to identify new disease MoA hypothesis, target validationa nd dicovery, discover hidden connections and low-hanging treatment option fruits that nobody has yet considered or simply just weed out fake or irrelevant new er publications.
#ai #science #neuroscience #drugs #future #LLM #nostr

2024-12-08 21:39:09 GMT

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Thanks for sharing

2024-12-05 06:16:38 GMT

#bitcoin #nostr #memes
https://m.primal.net/MoCQ.jpg

2024-12-03 09:51:07 GMT

My favorite euphemism from corporate world is "let's take a bio break"

2024-12-01 14:51:48 GMT

Today, I experienced a first: someone told me they got interested in Bitcoin after reading my book and now plan to buy some. Made my day to know I finally managed to orange pill someone!
#bitcoin #books

2024-11-28 13:02:54 GMT

Another ALS clinical trial failure:
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/ptc-fails-phase-2-als-trial-axes-utreloxastat-program
Unfortunate but sad reality when it comes to CNS disorders. The problem mostly stems from our fundamental ignorance (in the classical meaning) when it comes to these disorders. We truly mostly still don't understand what is the underlying key mechanism of action that needs correction in order to treat these diseases.
#science #als #brain #motorneurons

2024-11-19 06:07:07 GMT

Are LLMs better doctors?
LLM model on its own far outperforms physicians when giving the correct diagnosis. Funny thing is, even when physicians are allowed to use AI as support, their correct diagnosis ratio basically does not increase, indicating a tendency of the physicians to cling to their own diagnosis and ignoring the LLMs advice.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2825395
#ai #science #health

2024-11-18 13:31:24 GMT

playing around with AI-generating video for scenes from my book. I wanted an intense fight in hotel room between a middle-aged US agent and two Chinese bodyguards.
I received a beautiful choreographed modern dance triplet of a Chinese Christopher Walken and two supporting dancers.
Long way to go.
#ai #art #artstr #books #funny
https://m.primal.net/MaBc.gif

2024-11-10 08:18:19 GMT

ok,this is just beautiful
#sun #universe #science
https://m.primal.net/LyZU.mp4

2024-10-27 19:59:05 GMT

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Great to hear & thanks for the zap!

2024-10-24 12:52:00 GMT

There is „Broken Money“, there is "The Bitcoin Standard“ but the most interesting I've so far read about the monetary system is „The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve“ by G. Edward Griffin.
I can only encourage every bitcoiner to read it. It is excellently written, very engaging & goes in many ways to the core of what the problem with current fiscal policies and banking system is about.
For example, right from the 1st chapter:
"The purpose ... was to come to an agreement on the structure and operation of a banking cartel. The goal, as is true with all cartels, was to maximize profits by minimizing competition between members, to make it difficult for new competitors to enter the field, and to utilize the police power of government to enforce the cartel agreement. In more specific terms, it was to create a blueprint for the Federal Reserve System.
Here were representatives of the world's leading banking consortia... driven together by one overriding desire to fight their common enemy. The enemy was competition.
Competition also was coming from a new trend in industry to finance future growth out of profits rather than from borrowed capital…between 1900 and 1910, seventy per cent of the funding for American corporate growth was generated internally, making industry increasingly independent of the banks.... What the bankers wanted … was to intervene in the free market and tip the balance of interest rates downward, to favor debt over thrift. To accomplish this, the money supply simply had to be disconnected from gold and made more plentiful … ."
This is just from the 1st chapter and it continues to be enlightning and revealing. In my view it shows even better than Lyn's or Saif's books how the creation of the debt-based money supply system, the creation of the FED and the move away from the gold-standard was not a natural development that simply had to occur for a modern society to function but was instead driven by the influence of a few conspiratory bankers.
#nostr #bitcoin #books #bookstr #money
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/66499.The_Creature_from_Jekyll_Island

2024-10-22 19:41:25 GMT

quite interesting and promising results for a potential new therapy for diabetes 2 patients.
"Remarkably, at the 6- and 12-month follow-up, 86% of participants (12 out of 14) no longer required insulin therapy, and this success continued through the 24-month follow-up. In these cases, all patients maintained glycaemic control, with HbA1c levels remaining below 7.5%."
https://ueg.eu/a/360?origin=serp_auto
#science #diabetes

2024-10-21 05:21:32 GMT

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What did he say this time?

2024-10-20 05:15:18 GMT

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What about "sovereign vault"?

2024-10-19 15:30:54 GMT

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unnerving to see this put in numbers
#note10d0…r3sv

2024-10-19 13:27:31 GMT

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thanks! hope you enjoy the read. cheers!

2024-10-19 12:17:12 GMT

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that is weird. no idea why this happens for you? I know other have been able to buy the normal Kindle ebook version. this whole kindle select timeframe ends on November 10th though, so maybe you can get it the normal kindle way then?

2024-10-19 11:02:51 GMT

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thanks! fyi , I uploaded the PDF of my book to Nostr if you want to get it for free, hosted on nostr.build:
https://d.nostr.build/UlE0X93faO1XxD9l.pdf

2024-10-19 09:33:54 GMT

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Yeah,especially since Brave New World is the better book and is even more dystopia to me imo. I always "liked" Bernards fate to be send to an island to experience real life. I wanted that too back then.

2024-10-19 08:38:00 GMT

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Both were mandatory reading when I was in high school a while ago. Guess the school did something right back then.

2024-10-07 10:57:10 GMT

Am I officially old if the only acceptable breakfast #music is a Playlist with oldies like Aretha Franklin's "I say a little prayer" or "Happy Together" from The Turtles?
Music on modern breakfast playlist grinds my nerves and the typical breakfast/morning coffee shop music makes me want to go back to bed.
#asknostr #oldies #morning #breakfast

2024-10-05 18:54:51 GMT

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100% correct. There are many reasons why bitcoin is unique and successful and one of them is being the first of its kind and always leading the pack in terms of network effect. Like it or not bit Nostr does not have this advantage but instead plays the role of altcoin no.1000 vs ethereum/twitter. A superior selling point or technology alone is not sufficient. you need the network effect to work with a more rapid acceleration to work for you compared to more established alternatives.

2024-10-01 07:27:34 GMT

Eliezer Masliah, a top scientist in neurodegeneration and top NIH official has likely manipulated hundreds of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's paper and findings over the last 2 decades, potentially leading to billions of misallocated funds and research focus in the broader scientific community. He might get shunned for this in the community but will ultimately fall softly and continue to work in the field. It's a pity that there are no larger repercussions for falsifying data in research given the large implications this can have.
https://www.science.org/content/article/research-misconduct-finding-neuroscientist-eliezer-masliah-papers-under-suspicion
#science #alzheimer #brain #neurology #NIH #neuobiology #Parkinson #fraud

2024-09-25 08:13:17 GMT

If anybody is looking for an interesting read, give "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business a try"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12609433-the-power-of-habit
I was expecting yet another boring "marketing book" when I picked it up but it goes surprisingly deep into #cognition, #psychology and #society in general. I enjoyed it.
#books #science #brain #neurobiology #psychology #reading

2024-09-25 08:09:19 GMT

Great article from "The Pessimists Archive" about the hot legal debate about "Fake News" and fake photography >100 years in the US. This is just as much applicable to today's AI discussions and the just starting controversy on AI generated deep fakes and the likes. Nothing is really new, history repeats itself & hopefully we as a society can learn and improve from it in the long run.
On a side-note: the pessimists archive is a great website in general if you want to read about the worries and fights of the past against new technologies. Pretty much every new technology (electricity, phone, bicycle, cars, planes, etc.) had been vilified, people have been afraid of it and did not understand it before it became common reality. #bitcoin and #nostr are just another link in this long chain of this techno-pessimism.
https://newsletter.pessimistsarchive.org/p/the-1912-war-on-fake-photos?r=iougu&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
"Concern about deceptively edited photos feels like a very modern anxiety, yet a century ago similar worries were being litigated...
Portrait photography gave rise to an industry of photo ‘retouching’ - analog ‘beauty filters’ - to flatter subjects in a way portrait painters once did. This trend lead to questions about technology distorting our perceptions of beauty, reality and truth"
#nostr #fakenews #photography #deepfakes #ai #bitcoin #regulations #freespeech
#

2024-09-19 17:24:18 GMT

I was listening to @npub14mc…frlx 's recent podcast with Matthew Pines and their discussion about consciousness as an underlying component of the universe. Interesting on many levels.
The philosophy he described from Philipp Goff about the meaning of life that Matthew mostly seems to follow (with some modifications), reminded me a lot about the philosophy described in Gregory Roberts 2003 novel Shantaram that he expresses in the person of Khader Khan which can be summarized maybe as "everything that contributes to the complexity and richness of existence is meaningful" and that the "the universe is driven by the need to evolve, grow, and expand its possibilities"
In his words, the whole point of everything in the universe is that the universe becomes more interesting. If one leads a life that maximizes the probability to make the universe more complex, one has lead a good life. Every act of goodness or evil, every choice we make, adds to the complexity and interest of the universe which is how he justifies his role as a mafia leader, as he sees even crime and violence as part of the greater purpose of making the universe more complex.
I have not read Goff's book "Why" yet but I wonder if there is some overlap and references to these viewpoints. Would be interesting as Robert's book predates this by 2 decades and comes from a spiritual/religious viewpoint whereas Matthew Pines seems to come more from a rationalistic approach.
#books #philosophy #consciousness #universe #purpose #podcast #religion #spirituality

2024-09-19 14:22:53 GMT

What happened a couple days ago on September 14th that Nostr saw such a spike in new users? Was there an announcement of someone famous that they switch to Nostr?
https://m.primal.net/KuqQ.jpg
#asknostr #nostr #stats

2024-09-19 07:26:09 GMT

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I would laugh if it weren't so frustrating. Just as bitcoin was starting to distinguish itself from 'crypto' and all the worthless shitcoins in mainstream discussions, we have grifters like Trump lumping them together again, confusing the narrative for anyone who isn't well-informed. This is a setback for establishing bitcoin as an honest and alternative option to fiat.

2024-09-18 17:16:32 GMT

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True. As a side note, I really need to proofread my posts when typing on mobile. So many typos in my text. Autocorrect and typing while moving is a bad combo.

2024-09-18 13:53:49 GMT

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I've finished the podcast today and I am not sure were really the controversy is.
In Saylor's view, the yield clearly comes from lending the money to an individual/entity that will amplify the value of the original loan amount. His comment ton the 65y old that wants his money to receive a yield and so he lends it out a 22year old with a great business plan etc. On an individual level, this is associated with high risk and uncertainty but once you bundle multiple of these events, the risk becomes more easy to manage and basically a bank is born. The alternative would be a VC that forms and instead of expecting a yield, they want equity. Both forms are well established principles and will continue to be so even with a fixed, deflationary money. This is a simple concept and will forever be a valid argument to loan out money to another party with the expectation to receive a yield on this loan.
And I think Saifadean's view is actually not that different, it's mostly were he sets the baseline. He argues that a "yield" will be 0 when you lend your bitcoin will be zero. But then he argues that this is better then the alternative because zero is better than a negative yield (which would occur due to cost of keeping this capital as he said over and over again).
So Saifadean's argues from a scenario where with a loan you get zero % yield but keep the value of your capital fixed but without a loan you get a negative yield (say -0.5%). How is this conceptually different from saying with a loan you get 0.5% yield and without a loan you have 0% yield? it's just moving the baseline by 0.5% one direction or the other and in a scenario that Saifadean envisions keeping your 1 bitcoin buying power constant if you loan it to someone is still better and an incentive than not loaning it out and slowly have your buying power eroded. Saylor's argument that there will always be benefits from a credit/loan system no matter the underlying monetary system is still valid either way.

2024-09-17 17:09:43 GMT

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thanks for explaining!

2024-09-17 13:05:08 GMT

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Interesting new study looking into the intracellular molecular basis for "Collateral fattening" . which is a reason why you might get fatter than you were before when you start excessive eating habits again after a prolonged diet period.
#fasting #fat #diet #obesity #science
#note1fk8…7twz

2024-09-17 12:54:15 GMT

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Talk to the teacher, talk to the teacher, talk to the teacher. Don't make it a bigger deal than it is at the moment.
Talk to the teacher to get her/his perspective and what their exact words were.
It's totally fine that your sister has been told that she needs to improve to join the orchestra and it's also totally fine that she didn't get voted into a committee. There is really no reason to have an issue with either unless
a) the teacher was being a dick about how it was communicated and was really harsh (but please talk to the teacher to get their perspective first; there are always two sides to a story and what might sound harsh to your sister might just have been a normal statement - being told straight up that you are not good enough yet to join is not harsh, being told that you suck and you are a joke for even asking is harsh).
b) you believe your sister's musical skills are good enough that you think she should be able to perform with the orchestra. If it is, ask the teacher if she can try out again or ask for tips what she needs to improve to try again in a couple of months
But being upset that she has not been voted into a committee is ridiculous. I mean its fine if she is upset. She is 10. But that you are upset is weird. What do you expect? If there are limited places and more applicants, there will always be children who are not voted in and being upset is a natural reaction to it. She will get over it and maybe learn from it, that's life.

2024-09-16 18:51:22 GMT

El Salvador achieves fiscal independence:
https://elsalvadorinenglish.com/2024/09/15/el-salvador-achieves-fiscal-independence-president-bukele-announces-self-financed-budget/

2024-09-16 13:53:14 GMT

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Depends on what the time balance looks like and if aging is still a reality in that scenario.
Knowing I'll die in 70 years with a failing body or in 10 years while being at the peak of my mental and bodily fitness while my kids will still be kids would make a huge difference how I'll use the time I have left.

2024-09-15 10:41:13 GMT

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I don't understand the technical details so sorry if this is a dumb question: if all the data for this is transmitted via relays, how does it allow for privacy?

2024-09-15 10:24:51 GMT

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Depends on the definition of consciousness. Do classically considered "non conscious" living beings exist in a reality? If not, how does one explain the string on ancestry that these being originated from if they never existed in reality?

2024-09-15 10:18:11 GMT

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is (f) for real?

2024-09-15 10:13:40 GMT

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let's not forget that very often in history, those indie authors became classics only after their death. There are many examples of completely unsuccessful writers or painters that one would categorize like the ones you mentioned. They died unsuccessful, poor and unrecognized. 50 years later their works are considered the epitome of expression.
I'd say that in art, any unknown indie artist - whether it's music, painting, sculptures or writing - might just be just as good or better than mainstream colleagues. It's not like sports where this is an objective competition possible. Often the commercially successful artists just happened to be at the right place, at the right time, born in the right place and captured the eye of the right supporter. I known I heard some amazing street musicians that would put most most mainstream singers to shame and have seen amazing paintings in local artist galleries that you'll only see when you visit these towns.

2024-09-14 20:01:42 GMT

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Would be interesting to see if there is any correlation in today's world between % of bitcoin uptake in the population and child mortality in a country. I guess the data will be muddied by a dominating correlation between how advanced a nation is in terms of technology and thereby allowing for knowing about, having access to & buying bitcoin in the first place and health care development but if one could correct the dataset for this kind of likely dominating correlative factor, maybe one could at least get a glimpse into whether or not there is any credence to the theory.

2024-09-13 20:28:04 GMT

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nothing like a little scare to get you energized for the weekend!

2024-09-13 20:17:40 GMT

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😃 that sounds familiar. Hope they were able to open the door without any damage.

2024-09-13 13:12:09 GMT

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sorry, meant of course gold/bitcoin align with "low time preference"

2024-09-13 13:09:36 GMT

A kind of convoluted thought about child mortality, #science, #religion, #bitcoin and #fiat. Bear with me.
Science/engineneering and religion/spirituality mostly have an antagonistic relationship and throughout history have always shaped each other. One thing I rarely considered in this reciprocal relationship is the simple fact that the common state for mankind has been that child mortality was around 40-50% before reaching reproductive age. That means that in order to just avoid the vanishing of your family, your tribe, your town, your state, women needed to have at least 4 kids on average, often before the age of 20. And the risk of them themselves dying during child births was high.
Pretty much every parent had had to bury multiple own their own children, every sibling saw the death of a brother or sister as children, many saw their mothers dying when they where still young. The natural state of being for any human was death, loss and uncertainty and exposure to all of these as a regular occurance. How was the mind and perspective on life shaped by this reality?
In such a world, there was likely an inclination to be more cautious, to save both resources and emotional energy, and to prepare for the inevitable hardships that would come. The need to cling to moments of joy created a mindset that prized stability, savety and foresight. Is there be a connection to the preference of hard money in past times? Gold and Bitcoin align with a worldview shaped by loss, scarcity, and a high time preference. It encourages people to save and preserve wealth, knowing that the worst can happen at any time. There is a comfort in something that is solid, enduring, and impervious to external manipulation in an uncertain reality. In the face of death and loss, saving both materially and emotionally was essential.
Only the quite recents developments of the last ~100 years (chemistry revolution, antibiotics, understanding of infections diseases & pathogens, etc.) has really changed our relationship with death. Today, the average person is not exposed to death and loss during their formative years. Now, with increased safety of childbirth, there is less of an instinctive need to prepare for the worst. People may feel less of a need to cling to hard assets or to preserve wealth for a rainy day. Instead, fiat currency takes over because external stability seems more assured (so no need to look for it in hard money).
In essence, a world with lower child mortality rates may have subconsciously on a societal level favor fiat money over bitcoin, as people no longer face the same degree of existential uncertainty that characterized the lives of previous generations. Without the same degree of existential uncertainty that once shaped earlier generations, the mindset of saving and preservation has been replaced by a more speculative approach to wealth, where greater risks are accepted, even in the form of money itself.
Anyway, my point is that beyond the well-documented technological impacts that favored the rise of fiat in the modern world which are explored by @npub1a2c…w83a, @npub1gdu…6nak, and others, maybe on another level the scientific and technological revolution in the last ~100 years might have also indirectly favored the invention and rise of fiat, by changing child mortality and - connected to this - people's relationship to their own personal time preference.
(I was listening to a recent Lex Fridman interview with a historian discussion ancient Rome where child mortality was briefly brought up)
#bitcoin #fiat #science #religion #death #nostr

2024-09-13 06:22:39 GMT

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I never really looked into farcaster and how it stacks up to Nostr. Would this be an accurate objective weighing of the pros & cons: https://denostr.medium.com/a-comparison-of-decentralized-social-protocols-nostr-and-farcaster-836dfaa0b231
if yes, I'll stick with Nostr.

2024-09-12 10:40:19 GMT

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Welcome to Nostr. Thanks for sharing your photography here!

2024-09-11 19:42:34 GMT

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- Android, newest version
- I had the issue that my own new posts and replies to it would not show for about 10h while other posts seemed to load fine a couple of days ago (independent whether I posted via phone or PC)
- right now, things seem to be back to normal

2024-09-11 13:24:35 GMT

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Interesting way to look at this.I have never thought about that way. However, I would throw one consideration in the ring: When they talk about the slowness of human behavior being slow at 10bits/s, they are only using conscious perception examples. The speed of data processing that we are all doing all the time subconsciously - interpreting the thousands/millions of visual stimuli, smells and sounds when racing down a hill with unknown terrain on a bicycle and adjusting posture, direction and steering within split seconds for example - far exceeds this throughput capacity greatly. It's still human behavior but it's just that this happens subconsciously.

2024-09-11 07:37:14 GMT

A recent paper discussing the framework to understand wjether or not LLMs can be conscious:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-024-03553-w
I don't believe a LLM can ever be considered conscious for many reasons and only other AI approaches could get there but still an interesting read.
#ai #llm #chatgtp #consciousness #neuroscience #science #philosophy

2024-09-10 11:00:07 GMT

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I had the same revelation a decade ago when cooking with some Italian friends. They also didn't rinse the soap off. Don't know if this was just a peculiarity from then.

2024-09-09 16:55:41 GMT

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I agree. I knew about bitcoin since 2014 and even had some back then. But I did not get it's uniqueness, I did not get how it is fundamentally different from all other shitcoins, I did not get "money". So I played around with other coins, traded and lost most of it. I credit Saylor's thoughts and hours and hours of explaining bitcoin from a more philosophical and economical standpoint and the fundamental importance of proof of work that it clicked.

2024-09-09 13:07:40 GMT

Quite impressive phase 3 data from Summit's new lung cancer drug:
https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/summit-wclc-ivonescimab-keytruda-full-results-lung-cancer/726376/
For context, "Keytruda" has been pretty much the gold-standard for a decade now for this indication and has back then revolutionized the immune-oncology field. To now have a new potential drug that performs "twice as good" is really something.
A drawback is that this is based on clinical data from China and there have been some problems in the past with reliability here. But on the other hand, this effect is so huge, they would have really needed to mess up the trial or tinker with the data for this to be not true.
#science #cancer #oncology #drugs

2024-09-09 10:47:19 GMT

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Thanks for giving it a shot.I hope you enjoy it!

2024-09-09 08:38:40 GMT

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can your old meter run backwards (e.g. when you are feeding own solar into the grid)? If yes and you have the option to generate your own electricity, even just with a small 800w solar setup, I'd keep the old one as I've yet to see a new one that goes into negatives.

2024-09-08 19:50:26 GMT

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welcome home!

2024-09-07 18:28:33 GMT

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
― Isaac Asimov, 1980

2024-09-07 15:38:12 GMT

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Interesting. I did install the nos2x extension yesterday for the first time and thought maybe it had something to do with it. But seemed to have been a more general issue then.

2024-09-07 13:20:06 GMT

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I had the case yesterday that Primus didn't load or show my own post or replies to them for ~10h. everything else loaded fine.No idea what happened but today it works normally again.

2024-09-07 10:48:03 GMT

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Hi Adrian, I saw your DM and replied today (weirdly I did not see my own post or your message here in my primal app until just now)

2024-09-07 10:47:05 GMT

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not sure what happened with my primal account yesterday but interestingly this post did not pop-up on my profile as posted and I also didn't see any replies to it until just now? (which is why I reposted it today which seems was unnecessary). I wonder what happened, can there be synchronization errors/delays in the relays for something like this to happen?

2024-09-07 10:18:36 GMT

Sorry for the repost but I'm still learning how to use muliple Nostr-apps correctly, so one more try hoping the link and the tags are correct this time:
‐----------------------------
Here is the free PDF of my bitcoin novel „Walking Banks“ for everyone to download (hosted on nostr.build):
https://d.nostr.build/UlE0X93faO1XxD9l.pdf
It is a murder mystery thriller with Bitcoin as a key plot element without being the focus of the story itself. Please feel free to share it with fellow Nostriches if you like.
I wrote this book for two reasons:
a) To provide a couple of hours of enjoyment. „Walking Banks“ does not aim to be high literature, but rather an entertaining read.
b) To contribute in my own small way to the growth of the Bitcoin community and network. Bitcoin has become well integrated into the lives of those interested in finance and freedom, but discussions about it often remain confined to those bubbles, reaching only a select niche. I believe the next important step for Bitcoin is to become a common topic in everyday pop culture - whether in art, music, films, books, or other media. This book is thus my attempt to "orange pill" a broader audience by weaving Bitcoin into a fictional story. My hope is that it sparks curiosity about it in the reader in a natural way, without being too forceful or preachy, for readers who might not usually consider these topics but enjoy a good murder mystery.
I believe Bitcoin and Nostr are joined at the hip, as both stand for freedom, sovereignty, and independence in an increasingly controlled and surveilled world. Everything that helps Nostr also helps Bitcoin, and vice versa, so I hope I can contribute a bit this way to Nostr's exclusivity and value content proposition.
Thanks to @npub1qny…95gx whose advocacy for Nostr brought me here, @npub1trr…hdpu whose work at the HRF is inspirational, @npub1r0r…q9ac who told me about @npub1nxy…avr7 so that I can host the file and to @npub1smr…xn8w, who first put the idea of sharing the book on Nostr into my head!
I hope you enjoy the read.
AH White
#nostr #bitcoin #books #grownostr #literature #artstr #nostrplebs #btc #freedom #artonnostr #bookstr