plebpoet

devs

My Biggest Issue with AI in One Picture

It's stuff like this that makes me scratch my head with all the talk of people saying they vibe coded this and vibe coded that.

How the heck do you vibe code a whole app knowing that the LLM will either hallucinate at some point or trust you too much and follow an erroneous request?

![](https://m.stacker.news/88284)

nichro

Politics_And_Law

We often hear about people that want to "be sovereign" but almost none of them really do something about.
Here you have the FIRST important step you must do, in order to start your sovereign journey. Is a long and hard journey. I've explain it in this important article:
- EN https://darth-coin.github.io/general/natural-law-bitcoin-en.html
- ES https://darth-coin.github.io/general/natural-law-bitcoin-es.html

In English
Instructions for use:
1. Print the document on A4 paper.
2. Fill in the fields by hand, especially the name as a Living Man (e.g., I-am: John-Doe), the place and date on the solar calendar (e.g., solar day 124 of the year 2025).
3. Sign with your autograph (not a legal signature) in the presence of two real-life witnesses, who must also sign.
4. Optional: Scan it and publish it on:
- Blogs or personal websites.
- Decentralized platforms.
- Conscious social media, with the message "Public Declaration of Sovereignty."
5. Save a copy at home and another in digital format outside the commercial cloud (pen drive or physical disk).
6. If you wish, you can send a certified copy to institutions attempting to act on you, enclosing the following statement:
>"I do not consent to being treated as a legal fiction. I request that you refrain from any action against me without proof of legitimate jurisdiction and informed consent."

---

### DECLARATION OF WAIVER OF FICTITIOUS CONTRACT AND PROCLAMATION OF SOVEREIGNTY

I AM:
A conscious Living Being, born of the Creator, without intermediaries or representatives, free by nature and free from any legal fiction imposed without my full, conscious, and informed consent.
I DECLARE BEFORE WHOEVER WILL LISTEN AND SEE:
1. That I am not, nor have I ever been, the legal ENTITY written in capital letters on documents issued by any state-corporation.
2. That said legal ENTITY was created without my knowledge or voluntary consent, being the product of a commercial registration system that usurps the identity of the Living Being.
3. That I irrevocably waive any contract, bond, presumption, or legal representation that binds me to said fiction, including but not limited to:
- Birth certificates.
- Tax identification numbers.
- Corporate-issued identification documents.
- Legislation that presumes authority over me without express consent.
4. That I reject all commercial, maritime, or admiralty jurisdiction applied to my Being without a basis in Natural Law, the only one I recognize as legitimate: that which does no harm, does not deceive, and does not invade the property of others.
5. That I proclaim myself sovereign, subject only to Natural Law and truth, living in honor, peace, and responsibility, and acting according to my conscience and the divine purpose given to me.
6. That any authority claiming to act over me must demonstrate, under oath and full personal responsibility, its legitimacy, its jurisdiction, and my prior, conscious consent.
7. That this declaration is made in my full judgment, without coercion or external influence, as a sovereign and peaceful act of emancipation and return to my original nature as a free Living Being.
Signed with my autograph, not with a legal signature,
on this sacred day, on solid ground, under a free sky.

Autograph of the Living Being (handwritten):
(Natural name without surnames, in lowercase, example: I-am: John-Doe)

Witnesses (optional but recommended):
1. Name and autograph:
2. Name and autograph:

Location: [City or town, without mentioning the corporate country]
Date: [Day, month, and year of the solar calendar, not the corporate Gregorian calendar]

---

En Español:
Instrucciones para usarlo:
1. Imprime el documento en papel blanco, tamaño A4.
2. Rellena los campos a mano, especialmente el nombre como Ser Vivo (ej. yo-soy:juan-de-la-fuente), el lugar y la fecha en calendario solar (ej. día solar 124 del año 2025).
3. Firma con tu autógrafo (no firma legal) en presencia de dos testigos de carne y hueso, que también deben firmar.
4. Opcional: Escanéalo y publícalo en:
- Blogs o webs personales.
- Plataformas descentralizadas
- Redes sociales conscientes, con el mensaje de "Declaración Pública de Soberanía".
5. Guarda una copia en tu casa y una en formato digital fuera de la nube comercial (pen drive o disco físico).
6. Si lo deseas, puedes enviar una copia certificada a instituciones que intenten actuar sobre ti, adjuntando la frase:
>"No consiento ser tratado como una ficción jurídica. Ruego se abstengan de cualquier actuación sobre mi Ser sin prueba de jurisdicción legítima y consentimiento informado."

---

### DECLARACIÓN DE RENUNCIA AL CONTRATO FICTICIO Y PROCLAMACIÓN DE SOBERANÍA

YO SOY:
Un Ser Vivo consciente, nacido del Creador, sin intermediarios ni representantes, libre por naturaleza y ajeno a cualquier ficción jurídica impuesta sin mi consentimiento pleno, consciente e informado.
DECLARO ANTE QUIEN QUIERA ESCUCHAR Y VER:
1. Que no soy, ni he sido jamás, la PERSONA jurídica escrita en mayúsculas que figura en documentos emitidos por ninguna corporación-estado.
2. Que dicha PERSONA jurídica fue creada sin mi conocimiento ni consentimiento voluntario, siendo fruto de un sistema de registro mercantil que usurpa la identidad del Ser Vivo.
3. Que renuncio de forma irrevocable a todo contrato, vínculo, presunción o representación legal que me ate a dicha ficción, incluyendo pero no limitado a:
   - Certificados de nacimiento.
   - Números de identificación fiscal.
   - Documentos de identidad emitidos por corporaciones.
   - Legislaciones que presuman autoridad sobre mí sin consentimiento expreso.
4. Que rechazo toda jurisdicción comercial, marítima o de almirantazgo que se aplique sobre mi Ser sin base en la Ley Natural, la única que reconozco como legítima: aquella que no hace daño, no engaña y no invade propiedad ajena.
5. Que me proclamo soberano, sujeto únicamente a la Ley Natural y a la verdad, viviendo en honor, paz y responsabilidad, y actuando conforme a mi conciencia y al propósito divino que me ha sido otorgado.
6. Que toda autoridad que pretenda actuar sobre mí deberá demostrar, bajo juramento y plena responsabilidad personal, su legitimidad, su jurisdicción, y el consentimiento previo y consciente por mi parte.
7. Que esta declaración es realizada en mi pleno juicio, sin coacción ni influencia externa, como acto soberano y pacífico de emancipación y regreso a mi naturaleza original como Ser Vivo libre.
Firmado con mi autógrafo, no con firma jurídica,
en este día sagrado, en tierra firme, bajo el cielo libre.

Autógrafo del Ser Vivo (de puño y letra):
(Nombre natural sin apellidos, en minúsculas, ejemplo: yo-soy:juan-de-la-fuente)


Testigos (opcional pero recomendable):
1. Nombre y autógrafo:
2. Nombre y autógrafo:

Lugar: [Ciudad o pueblo, sin mención del país corporativo]
Fecha: [Día, mes y año del calendario solar, no gregoriano corporativo]


The 1st step into your sovereignty is to declare it

DarthCoin

live channel broadcasting an endless stream of obscure media and video ephemera

carter

Stacker News Media Kit 1.0

Jon_Hodl

bitcoin

## 2008 

Satoshi Nakamoto begins design and coding work on Bitcoin.

**November 17th:** James A. Donald and Satoshi Nakamoto discuss pending transaction pools on the Cryptography Mailing List.

**December 10th:** The Bitcoin Mailing List is created with a welcome message.

**December 17th:** Satoshi Nakamoto posts about the Bitcoin P2P e-cash paper on the Cryptography Mailing List.

## 2009

**January 3rd:** The Bitcoin Genesis Block is mined at 18:15:05 UTC, containing the message "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks." Satoshi Nakamoto announces the Genesis Block on the Bitcoin Mailing List.

**January 8th:** Satoshi Nakamoto announces the first release of Bitcoin (v0.1) on the Cryptography Mailing List, initially available for Windows only. The announcement includes details about the decentralized nature of Bitcoin, how to run a node, generate coins, and send/receive transactions.

**January 10th - 12th:** Satoshi Nakamoto exchanges emails with Hal Finney, troubleshooting issues with the early Bitcoin software and discussing features like timestamping.

**January 12th:** Satoshi Nakamoto announces Bitcoin v0.1 Alpha release notes on the Bitcoin Mailing List. The announcement includes details about running a node, generating coins, and the future implementation of transaction fees.

**January 24th:** Satoshi Nakamoto exchanges emails with Hal Finney, addressing a bug related to full disk space and code duplication.

**February 4th:** Satoshi Nakamoto announces the release of Bitcoin v0.1.5 on the Bitcoin Mailing List, highlighting improvements based on feedback from Nicholas and Dustin.

**February 18th:** Satoshi Nakamoto describes Bitcoin on the P2P Foundation forum, emphasizing its decentralized nature and rules governing coin issuance and difficulty adjustment.

**March 4th:** Satoshi Nakamoto discusses running multiple nodes, future website integration, and Bitcoin's potential as a timestamp server with Hal Finney on the Bitcoin Mailing List.

**April 27th:** Satoshi Nakamoto responds to Mike Hearn on the Bitcoin Mailing List, clarifying that Bitcoin's decentralized structure makes it distinct from traditional financial institutions, implying different legal implications.

**October 23rd:** Satoshi Nakamoto addresses concerns about Bitcoin crashes on Windows, clarifies the purpose of the "debug.log" file, and mentions working on a new version with Martti.

**November 27th:** Satoshi Nakamoto confirms that a Linux version of Bitcoin is in development and will be included in the upcoming v0.2 release. Satoshi Nakamoto discusses the development status of Bitcoin v0.2 on the BitcoinTalk forum, highlighting upcoming features such as multi-processor support, proxy support, and a new options dialog layout.

**December 11th:** Satoshi Nakamoto explains the mechanics of Bitcoin addresses and transactions, emphasizing the importance of storing addresses to prove ownership.

**December 16th:** Satoshi Nakamoto announces the release of Bitcoin v0.2 on the BitcoinTalk forum. The announcement details new features including multi-processor support, proxy support, minimize to tray option, autostart option, a Linux version, and thanks contributors Martti Malmi and New Liberty Standard.

**December 17th:** Satoshi Nakamoto announces the release of Bitcoin v0.2 on the Bitcoin Mailing List, echoing the BitcoinTalk announcement.

## 2010

**February 5th:** Satoshi Nakamoto explains the divisibility of Bitcoin, noting the internal use of eight decimal places and the possibility of displaying more decimals in the future.

**February 16th:** Satoshi Nakamoto advises on setting up multiple Bitcoin machines behind a NAT, suggesting the use of the "-connect" parameter for bandwidth optimization and redundancy.

**February 17th:** Satoshi Nakamoto discusses Bitcoin client and website translation, explaining the use of language codes, file formats, and providing a walkthrough using Poedit.

**February 23rd:** Satoshi Nakamoto explains that Bitcoin utilizes mouse movements and disk operation timings to generate entropy. Satoshi Nakamoto discusses command-line functionality and JSON-RPC implementation in Bitcoin.

**February 26th:** Satoshi Nakamoto participates in a discussion about a new icon/logo for Bitcoin.

**May 16th:** Satoshi Nakamoto explains why generated Bitcoin addresses are kept permanently and cannot be deleted, highlighting the risk of losing funds. Satoshi Nakamoto suggests improvements to address reuse for sending to the same IP, including caching keys and adding an expiration parameter to "getnewaddress."

**June 22nd:** Satoshi Nakamoto announces the near completion of Bitcoin v0.3, inviting testing from the community. Satoshi Nakamoto shares a Windows RC1 build of Bitcoin v0.3 for testing and troubleshooting an error reported by davidonpda. Satoshi Nakamoto confirms that Laszlo's optimizations will be included in v0.3, resulting in a 20% increase in hashing speed. Satoshi Nakamoto shares a Linux RC1 build of Bitcoin v0.3 for testing and provides instructions for compiling.

**July 2nd:** Satoshi Nakamoto confirms Visual C++ compatibility for compiling Bitcoin, but notes that generating is significantly slower. Satoshi Nakamoto announces the release of Bitcoin v0.3, pointing users to the official website for download.

**July 6th:** Satoshi Nakamoto announces the release of Bitcoin v0.3 on the Bitcoin Mailing List, highlighting new features including command-line control, JSON-RPC, faster hashing, a Mac OS X version, and translations.

**July 9th:** Satoshi Nakamoto addresses a bug affecting Bitcoin 0.3 on Windows where usernames contain non-Latin characters, indicating a potential fix in the SVN. Satoshi Nakamoto discusses security concerns and potential attack vectors, highlighting the robustness of the Bitcoin system.

**July 10th:** Satoshi Nakamoto considers improvements to the "-connect" functionality, discussing its use cases, limitations, and interaction with IRC.

**July 14th:** Satoshi Nakamoto acknowledges the recent difficulty increase and reassures a user experiencing reduced coin generation. Satoshi Nakamoto confirms that Bitcoin 0.3 requires wxWidgets 2.9 for compilation.

**July 15th:** Satoshi Nakamoto confirms a fix for runaway CPU usage on 64-bit Bitcoin clients for Linux, mentioning an undocumented switch "-minimizetotray" to re-enable the option. Satoshi Nakamoto announces the upcoming release of Bitcoin 0.3.1 with a fix for a runtime error, asking for user testing.

**July 16th:** Satoshi Nakamoto investigates an assertion failure error on Ubuntu Lucid, requesting information about block count and offering potential solutions. Satoshi Nakamoto suggests trying the Bitcoin 0.3.1 release candidate to address libcrypto linkage issues. Satoshi Nakamoto announces the release of Bitcoin 0.3.1 on SourceForge, highlighting bug fixes for Windows and Linux.

**July 17th:** Satoshi Nakamoto confirms that the change to reduce outgoing connections from 15 to 8 on non-port forwarded clients will be fully implemented in the upcoming 0.3.2 release.

**July 25th:** Satoshi Nakamoto encourages users to perform traffic load tests on the Bitcoin test network. Satoshi Nakamoto announces the release of Bitcoin 0.3.3, emphasizing important security improvements and new features like HTTP authentication for JSON-RPC and faster initial block download.

**July 27th:** Satoshi Nakamoto incorporates the cached SHA256 state optimization suggested by tcatm into the SVN (rev 113), resulting in a 70% speed increase.

**July 29th:** Satoshi Nakamoto acknowledges the need to improve compatibility with older Ubuntu versions and plans to address it in the future. Satoshi Nakamoto investigates build errors reported on Debian testing 32-bit related to undeclared scopes, suspecting compilation issues without a clean build.

**July 30th:** Satoshi Nakamoto provides detailed instructions and clarifies dependencies for compiling Bitcoin on Ubuntu 9.04.

**August 11th:** Satoshi Nakamoto updates the SVN, addressing a recurring issue related to #ifdef WXMAC_OSX and expressing hope for a smoother development process in the future. Satoshi Nakamoto outlines a theoretical design for a more private Bitcoin system where clients store the entire transaction history, discussing its potential benefits, limitations, and trade-offs.

**August 12th:** Satoshi Nakamoto discusses BSD detection in the Bitcoin codebase, addressing concerns about compatibility and proposing changes to improve platform independence. Satoshi Nakamoto clarifies the design principles of the proposed private Bitcoin system, emphasizing the distinction between client-side and network-side data storage and the importance of maintaining consensus.

**August 13th:** Satoshi Nakamoto participates in a discussion about proposed changes to the "sendtoaddress" API call, advocating for maintaining backward compatibility and suggesting a simple return value of "".

**August 14th:** Satoshi Nakamoto investigates issues with compiling the 4-way parallel hashing code for SSE2 CPUs on MinGW, identifying potential compiler-related problems. Satoshi Nakamoto reports progress on testing the 4-way parallel hashing code, noting a 50% performance decrease on a Core 2 system compared to the stock implementation.

**August 15th:** Satoshi Nakamoto issues a warning on the Bitcoin Mailing List, advising users not to trust any transactions after block 74638 due to a potential problem under investigation. Satoshi Nakamoto shares preliminary code changes on the BitcoinTalk forum aimed at addressing an overflow bug, seeking feedback from the community.

**August 16th:** Satoshi Nakamoto investigates the "-march=amdfam10" compiler flag for AMD processors, confirming its effectiveness but seeking clarification and speed comparisons. Satoshi Nakamoto confirms the inclusion of tcatm's 4-way SSE2 optimization for Linux in Bitcoin 0.3.10, addressing compatibility

 issues and highlighting the improved hashing speed.

**August 18th:** Satoshi Nakamoto shares updated code for the LoadBlockIndex function, aiming to improve the verification process for blocks in the main chain.

**August 26th:** Satoshi Nakamoto discusses the implications of removing the DB_PRIVATE flag from the Berkeley DB implementation, seeking details about potential performance impacts, file locking behavior, and security considerations.

**August 27th:** Satoshi Nakamoto comments on a new web service providing dumps of specific Bitcoin blocks, noting its potential for visualizing block production rates. Satoshi Nakamoto clarifies the distinction between Bitcoins and traditional stocks, highlighting the lack of dividends and drawing comparisons to collectibles or commodities.

**September 5th:** Satoshi Nakamoto suggests a workaround for a CryptoPP assertion error, recommending commenting out a specific line of code and monitoring for potential memory leaks. Satoshi Nakamoto addresses a user's confusion regarding an error message related to incorrect system time, suggesting improved wording for clarity.

**September 6th:** Satoshi Nakamoto acknowledges a request for an auto-backup feature for the "wallet.dat" file, planning to address it in a future version.

**September 12th:** Satoshi Nakamoto discusses the removal of the DB_PRIVATE flag and its impact on Berkeley DB behavior, noting the creation of temporary files and conducting performance tests during an initial block download.

**September 30th:** Satoshi Nakamoto shares a Windows RC1 build of Bitcoin 0.3.13 for testing, highlighting changes related to transaction confirmations, Berkeley DB flags, fractional change handling, SSE2 auto-detection, and contributions from Gavin Andresen.

**October 1st:** Satoshi Nakamoto acknowledges a request for a feature and plans to consider it for a future version, deeming it too late for inclusion in the upcoming 0.3.13 release. Satoshi Nakamoto announces the release of Bitcoin v0.3.13, urging users to upgrade and detailing changes related to transaction confirmations, IP address handling, Berkeley DB flags, fractional change calculations, SSE2 auto-detection, and contributions from Gavin Andresen.

**October 3rd:** Satoshi Nakamoto requests users to test a special build of Bitcoin 0.3.13.1 designed to address the "dust spam" transaction issue, providing download links for Windows and Linux versions. Satoshi Nakamoto clarifies that the Linux 64-bit version of the special build includes a fix for the AMD CPUID detection issue related to 4-way 128-bit SSE2 support. Satoshi Nakamoto shares code changes illustrating the improved CPUID detection for AMD processors in 64-bit mode, addressing a previous compatibility issue.

**October 6th:** Satoshi Nakamoto provides a Windows build of Bitcoin 0.3.13.2 addressing issues with 0/unconfirmed transactions, explaining the refined logic for spending unconfirmed change and highlighting its improvement over the previous version.

**October 23rd:** Satoshi Nakamoto suggests using knightmb's "blk*.dat" files to troubleshoot an issue where a user's Bitcoin client gets stuck during block chain redownload, suspecting potential interference from antivirus software, routers, or firewalls.

**November 28th:** Satoshi Nakamoto strongly advises against using the same "wallet.dat" file on multiple computers simultaneously, explaining the risks of data corruption and recommending alternative approaches for consolidating generated coins.

**November 29th:** Satoshi Nakamoto engages in a discussion about optimizing Bitcoin's performance, addressing concerns about database handling, block index writing, transaction index building, and suggesting potential improvements through read caching and configuration settings.

**December 1st:** Satoshi Nakamoto proposes further database optimizations by adjusting Berkeley DB settings, specifically targeting lock management and enabling asynchronous writes for improved performance.

**December 10th:** Satoshi Nakamoto discusses the scalability and design considerations of integrating BitDNS with Bitcoin, arguing for separate systems to avoid burdening users with unnecessary data and highlighting potential governance challenges.

**December 11th:** Satoshi Nakamoto further elaborates on the concept of separate blockchains for different applications, envisioning an ecosystem where chain-specific coins are traded against Bitcoins on exchanges. Satoshi Nakamoto responds to criticism of the Bitcoin codebase, defending its use of STL and minimal reliance on buffers, suggesting a misunderstanding of the code's structure.

**December 19th:** Satoshi Nakamoto shares code changes implementing a "client-only" mode for Bitcoin, allowing users to interact with the network without downloading the full block chain, highlighting its benefits for faster onboarding and scalability in the future.

## Users

- **Satoshi Nakamoto:** The pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. A prolific contributor to both the Bitcoin Mailing List and the BitcoinTalk forum, Satoshi was deeply involved in the early development and debugging of the Bitcoin software. Satoshi's emails and forum posts reveal a deep understanding of cryptography, distributed systems, and software engineering.

- **Hal Finney:** A renowned cryptographer and early Bitcoin enthusiast. Hal was one of the first people to correspond with Satoshi Nakamoto and received the first ever Bitcoin transaction. His emails demonstrate a keen interest in Bitcoin's technical details and potential applications.

- **James A. Donald:** An active participant in early Bitcoin discussions on the Cryptography Mailing List. James engaged in technical conversations with Satoshi about the intricacies of the Bitcoin protocol.

- **Martti Malmi (sirius-m):** An early Bitcoin developer who made significant contributions to the software, particularly the v0.2 release. Martti worked on user-friendly features, such as minimize to tray and autostart options, as well as the Linux port of Bitcoin.

- **New Liberty Standard:** An early Bitcoin user who assisted with testing the Linux version of the software.

- **Nicholas & Dustin:** Early Bitcoin users who provided valuable feedback and bug reports that contributed to the development of v0.1.5.

- **Laszlo Hanyecz:** An early Bitcoin developer who contributed code optimizations that significantly increased hashing speed. Laszlo also developed the Mac OS X version of Bitcoin.

- **DataWraith, Xunie, & Joozero:** Early Bitcoin users who contributed German, Dutch, and Italian translations for the software.

- **Gavin Andresen:** A software developer who became involved in Bitcoin development and made significant contributions, particularly in the areas of security and JSON-RPC functionality.

- **theymos:** An active member of the BitcoinTalk forum who provided technical assistance, including patches for specific software issues.

- **davidonpda:** An early Bitcoin user who encountered an error with v0.3 and worked with Satoshi to troubleshoot the problem.

- **tcatm:** A contributor who suggested and developed a cached SHA256 state optimization that led to a significant performance improvement.

- **jgarzik:** A Bitcoin developer who created a CPU miner that supported tcatm's 4-way SSE2 optimization.

- **knightmb:** A BitcoinTalk forum member who provided helpful resources, including a torrent for downloading Bitcoin block data.

A concise timeline of Satoshi's emails

BooksAndArticles

II. Quantity, Quality, Morality

In the Brave New World of my fantasy eugenics and dysgenics were practiced
systematically. In one set of bottles biologically superior ova, fertilized by biologically
superior sperm, were given the best possible prenatal treatment and were finally decanted
as Betas, Alphas and even Alpha Pluses. In another, much more numerous set of bottles,
biologically inferior ova, fertilized by biologically inferior sperm, were subjected to the
Bokanovsky Process (ninety-six identical twins out of a single egg) and treated prenatally
with alcohol and other protein poisons. The creatures finally decanted were almost
subhuman; but they were capable of performing unskilled work and, when properly
conditioned, detensioned by free and frequent access to the opposite sex, constantly
distracted by gratuitous entertainment and reinforced in their good behavior patterns by
daily doses of soma, could be counted on to give no trouble to their superiors.

In this second half of the twentieth century we do nothing systematic about our
breeding; but in our random and unregulated way we are not only over-populating our
planet, we are also, it would seem, making sure that these greater numbers shall be of
biologically poorer quality. In the bad old days children with considerable, or even with
slight, hereditary defects rarely survived. Today, thanks to sanitation, modern
pharmacology and the social conscience, most of the children born with hereditary
defects reach maturity and multiply their kind. Under the conditions now prevailing,
every advance in medicine will tend to be offset by a corresponding advance in the
survival rate of individuals cursed by some genetic insufficiency. In spite of new wonder
drugs and better treatment (indeed, in a certain sense, precisely because of these things),
the physical health of the general population will show no improvement, and may even
deteriorate. And along with a decline of average healthiness there may well go a decline
in average intelligence. Indeed, some competent authorities are convinced that such a
decline has already taken place and is continuing. "Under conditions that are both soft
and unregulated," writes Dr. W. H. Sheldon, "our best stock tends to be outbred by stock
that is inferior to it in every respect. . . . It is the fashion in some academic circles to
assure students that the alarm over differential birthrates is unfounded; that these
problems are merely economic, or merely educational, or merely religious, or merely
cultural or something of the sort. This is Pollyanna optimism. Reproductive delinquency
is biological and basic." And he adds that "nobody knows just how far the average IQ in
this country [the U.S.A.] has declined since 1916, when Terman attempted to standardize
the meaning of IQ 100."

In an underdeveloped and over-populated country, where four-fifths of the people
get less than two thousand calories a day and one-fifth enjoys an adequate diet, can
democratic institutions arise spontaneously? Or if they should be imposed from outside or
from above, can they possibly survive?

And now let us consider the case of the rich, industrialized and democratic
society, in which, owing to the random but effective practice of dysgenics, IQ's and
physical vigor are on the decline. For how long can such a society maintain its traditions
of individual liberty and democratic government? Fifty or a hundred years from now our
children will learn the answer to this question.

Meanwhile we find ourselves confronted by a most disturbing moral problem. We
know that the pursuit of good ends does not justify the employment of bad means. But
what about those situations, now of such frequent occurrence, in which good means have
end results which turn out to be bad?

For example, we go to a tropical island and with the aid of DDT we stamp out
malaria and, in two or three years, save hundreds of thousands of lives. This is obviously
good. But the hundreds of thousands of human beings thus saved, and the millions whom
they beget and bring to birth, cannot be adequately clothed, housed, educated or even fed
out of the island's available resources. Quick death by malaria has been abolished; but life
made miserable by undernourishment and over-crowding is now the rule, and slow death
by outright starvation threatens ever greater numbers.

And what about the congenitally insufficient organisms, whom our medicine and
our social services now preserve so that they may propagate their kind? To help the
unfortunate is obviously good. But the wholesale transmission to our descendants of the
results of unfavorable mutations, and the progressive contamination of the genetic pool
from which the members of our species will have to draw, are no less obviously bad. We
are on the horns of an ethical dilemma, and to find the middle way will require all our
intelligence and all our good will.

Brave New World Revisited - Chapter 2

itsMoro

# Writer Review: 5 Writing Platforms that Pay Beginners (2023)

This is a video by a writer I don't know that showed up in my YouTube feed.

I watched it because as someone who works on SN, I want to know what people think about other writing platforms and how they work since I see SN as competing with them to some degree.

She has two categories for writing platforms: payment per view vs payment per job.

The first three pay per view and the last two are job boards.

## 1. [Medium](https://medium.com/)

- Medium = Twitter (social media platform) + Wordpress (blogging platform) + getting paid to write
- everytime a paid member reads one of your posts, you earn a small portion of their membership fee
- membership fee for readers: $5 per month
- this means you get paid 2ct per view / $20 per thousand views
- no membership: two stories free per month
- to get paid as a writer, you need ~at least 100 followers~ to be a member for $5 per month (updated since video was released)
- no ads
- you can write about whatever you want
- what other people want to read matters more than what you want to write if you want to earn money
- health, wealth and love are the evergreen topics that tend to perform best
- medium partners with stripe, but stripe only partners with 40 countries
- even if you can't / don't get paid, you can use Medium as a portfolio website
- $10 minimum payout

## 2. [Simily](https://simily.co/)

- specifically for creative writing ("home for getting paid for creative writing")
- 2ct per view / $20 per thousand views
- very similar to Medium
- no idea how stories get promoted: algorithm? chronological?
- $10 minimum payout
- temporary business model
- later: switch to revenue sharing model similar to Medium where you get paid according to how many paying readers view your stories

## 3. [Vocal](https://vocal.media/)

- mix between Medium and Simily
- if you're a Vocal+ member for $10 per month
  - 0.6ct per view / $6 per thousand views
  - 2.9% transaction fees on tips
  - $20 minimum payout
  - exclusive challenges
  - early access to new features
- if you're not: 
  - 0.38ct per view / $3.80 per thousand views
  - 7% transaction fees on tips
  - $35 minimum payout
- unique feature: writing challenges with a prompt, guidelines and high prices like $20k (!)
- you have to submit stories which Vocal checks before they go live (10-24h delay between submit and going live)
- rubric can be confusing
- paying money to make money is a strange concept

## 4. [Scripted](https://www.scripted.com/)

- you have to apply to join pool of writers
- once you're in, you have access to a selection of jobs that clients upload
- you need to pass a test that has only 5% acceptance rate but it seems simple (mostly grammar questions)
- previous portfolio recommended (like on Medium) to get assigned to jobs
- clients can't pay less than 7ct per word
- access to different topics
- there are good clients (have been on Scripted for 3+ years)
- upfront work required
- three ways to make money:

1. Smart Match
- client uploads brief
- Scripted matches that to writers based on their profiles (probably AI)
- the first who accepts gets the job
- you need to be fast (she once waited was two minutes late and the offer was already gone)
- client sets rate

2. Proposals
-  client uploads brief
- Scripted matches that to writers
- first 5 quality proposals will be reviewed by client
- you need to be fast but client has two weeks to review proposals
- you can set your own rate along with proposal

3. Job Board
- clients upload jobs
- you can propose

## 5. [Text Broker](https://www.textbroker.com/)

- you have to apply to join job board
- you get a star rating between 1 to 5 stars
- clients can upload job briefs and specify how high your rating must be to apply
- you simply accept jobs (no application)
- a couple 100 words at most ("short, snappy jobs")
- you can also apply to join a team so you get regular assignments from clients
- if you're a really good writer, you can receive direct orders from clients
- low pay like 2ct per word ("insultingly low")
- no upfront work for jobs required
- confusing application, bad website UX
- best out of 5 to get paid right away
- $10 minimum payout

## Conclusion

What's seems to be unique to SN is that you can earn sats without any membership fee. However, we take 10% from zaps for sybil resistance since they are also used as a signal to rank content.

Also, you don't get paid by view but only per zap. So based on view count, you probably don't earn much on SN compared to these other platforms. But you get paid in bitcoin and there is no minimum payout.

What do you think? Are there any features these writing platforms have that SN would benefit from? How well does SN compete with these platforms, in your view?

---

_Related: @plebpoet gave [Scribophile](https://www.scribophile.com/) a detailed personal review in 2022 [here](https://stacker.news/items/100276)._

Writer Review: 5 Writing Platforms that Pay Beginners (2023)

news

An assassination attempt on Trump reminds me of a crucial documentary everyone should watch! 

It explains who runs this world from Hitler's days and the reasons behind JFK's assassination. 

🇺🇸 The documentary is 3 and a half hours long, so if you don't have time to watch it now, save the post and watch it later.


https://youtu.be/4oVpt_I9iQQ?si=OYN4UhhjMWVe1whC

Critical Documentary on World Leadership and Historical Assassinations

tech

Although there are many scientific search engines available on the web, Google is a very powerful search engine that manages to dominate and hide these specific search engines.

 I recently came across a list of search engines that can be used to find specific information on a wide range of topics. 

Here's the list I recently discovered and I'd like to share it with you: 

[www.refseek.com](https://www.refseek.com/site/about) - **Academic Resource Search**. RefSeek is a web search engine for students and researchers that aims to make academic information easily accessible to everyone. RefSeek searches more than five billion documents, including web pages, books, encyclopedias, journals, and newspapers. RefSeek's unique approach offers students comprehensive subject coverage without the information overload of a general search engine—increasing the visibility of academic information and compelling ideas that are often lost in a muddle of sponsored links and commercial results.

www.worldcat.org - **WorldCat** is a great resource for locating unique, trustworthy materials that you often can’t find anywhere except in a library. And by connecting thousands of libraries’ collections in one place, WorldCat.org makes it easy for you to browse the world’s libraries from one easy search box. During the past 50+ years, thousands of libraries have entered their information about millions of books, magazines, movies, songs, maps, genealogical records, research theses and so much more into WorldCat. And not just the physical items you could find when you visit a library, but many kinds of digital content like open-source e-books, articles, downloadable audiobooks, and photos. You can also find article citations with links to full text, authoritative research materials, one-of-a-kind documents and photos of local or historic significance, and digital versions of rare items that aren’t generally available to the public.

https://link.springer.com - **Springer Nature** advances discovery by publishing robust and insightful research, supporting the development of new areas of knowledge, making ideas and information accessible around the world, and leading the way on open access. Key to this is our ability to provide the best possible service to the whole research community.

www.bioline.org.br - **Bioline International** is a pioneer in the provision of open access to peer-reviewed bioscience journals published in developing countries. These journals contain timely research on public health, international development, tropical medicine, food and nutritional security, and biodiversity. Bioline increases the visibility of this research by making it readily available to researchers across the world. Bioline is not a publisher, but an aggregator that provides a free platform for journals who wish to participate in the global open access movement.


http://repec.org - **The RePEc bibliographic data** is in the public domain and thus used by other services as well. Over 2,200 archives from 103 countries have contributed about 4.5 million research items from 4,000 journals and 5,500 working paper series. Over 65,000 authors have registered and 75,000 email subscriptions are served every week. RePEc is entirely based on the contributions of volunteers.

www.science.gov - **Science.gov** is an official website of the U.S. government providing ready access to the massive stores of federally funded scientific research results, without needing to know which agency funded the research. Research results include scientific and technical reports, peer-reviewed scholarly publications, digital data, software, conference presentations and proceedings, and other scientific and technical information that federal agencies publish resulting from their research investments. Originally launched in 2002, Science.gov searches content from across multiple federal agencies that fund scientific research and provides top-level results from those agencies, where users get the most relevant results for the information they search. Unlike typical web-based search engines that crawl and index web content at unknown frequencies, Science.gov uses a search technology that retrieves results in real-time. This ensures that the most recent content is available for search and retrieval by Science.gov.

www.base-search.net - **BASE** is one of the world's most voluminous search engines especially for academic web resources. BASE provides more than 340 million documents from more than 11,000 content providers. You can access the full texts of about 60% of the indexed documents for free (Open Access). BASE is operated by Bielefeld University Library. We are indexing the metadata of all kinds of academically relevant resources – journals, institutional repositories, digital collections etc. – which provide an OAI interface and use OAI-PMH for providing their contents (see our Golden Rules for Repository Managers).

Google is so "powerful" that it "hides" other search systems from the users 

Taft

This was in [Block's Q1 Shareholder letter](https://s29.q4cdn.com/628966176/files/doc_financials/2024/q1/Shareholder-Letter_1Q24_Block.pdf).

---------------------

We get this question a lot. We’ll use this quarter’s letter to answer it.

First, some facts. Less than 3% of company resources are dedicated to bitcoin-related projects. All of which have been more than fully covered by the profits from our bitcoin exchange, which is Cash App’s fourth largest gross profit stream.

But why spend time on bitcoin at all? We believe the world needs an open protocol for money, one that’s not owned or controlled by any single entity. We believe bitcoin is the best and only candidate to be that protocol, and to ultimately become the native currency of the internet.

How does this benefit Block? An open protocol for money helps us serve more people around the world faster. We could build an amazing product experience once and ship it globally to any market in the world, without needing to customize for hundreds of different payment schemes. This creates the opportunity to accelerate our growth potential and improve our cost structure at the same time. It truly levels the playing field for a company like ours, and for everyone in the world.

Why bitcoin versus all the other “cryptos?” Satoshi designed bitcoin to solve a very specific problem around payments, which the world has since found to be immensely valuable. The majority of other projects are either solving different problems or attempting to be a speculative trading asset. We benefit from an open protocol for money, and that’s what we’re focused on building upon.

In 2018, Block became the first publicly listed company to offer a bitcoin product. Our strategy since then follows 3 core directives:

- Make it accessible.
- Make it more secure.
- Make it usable every day.

To make bitcoin more accessible, we started with the greatest need: “how do I get bitcoin?” We built a simple platform right into Cash App where one can buy, hold, withdraw, or sell bitcoin. It was a hit. Since launch, Cash App has had over 21 million actives use bitcoin. Cash App bitcoin products generated 3.3% and 4.2% of Block’s gross profit in 2022 and 2023, with only 0.7% of related expenses.

We went on to build ecosystem features to help people get bitcoin. 1.6 million Cash App Card actives have used our Bitcoin Round Ups feature to automatically convert spare change from everyday transactions into bitcoin. Our Paid in Bitcoin feature allows customers to convert a percentage of their direct deposits into bitcoin with zero fees or price spreads, yet another reason for people to direct their paychecks into Cash App. We just launched a similar feature named “Bitcoin Conversions” for Square sellers wishing to convert up to 10% of their daily sales into bitcoin.

We’re doing a few things to make bitcoin more secure. First, we recognize that holding bitcoin safely can make people feel anxious, especially if one doesn’t want to keep their bitcoin on an exchange. That’s why we built and launched Bitkey to over 90 countries: a globally available, non-custodial wallet that combines intuitive software, robust hardware, and advanced security measures. Bitkey makes bitcoin easy to use and hard to lose. It comes integrated with Cash App and Coinbase, allowing customers to easily buy and transfer bitcoin directly to their Bitkey.

We also want to help secure the bitcoin network by building bitcoin mining hardware. We’re introducing an entirely new 3 nanometer ASIC mining chip, in addition to an entire mining rig system. Why? We’ve heard from countless miners globally about their desire for reliable, flexible, and US-based mining hardware and software. This contributes to the health and security of the bitcoin network by further decentralizing both the supply of mining hardware and the distribution of hashrate, the computing power devoted to mining bitcoin.

With a standalone mining chip, we will represent the only large, well-capitalized mining hardware vendor with such a solution. We believe this will help unlock mining system innovation and support the much-needed development of new mining system form factors and use cases. With the full mining rig system, we’ll build on our product and software development expertise, system engineering competency, supply chain experience, and aftermarket support capability (with tens of millions of devices shipped) to build something miners can depend on. This is a massive market and opportunity we’re very excited about.

And finally, we want to make bitcoin more usable everyday. Our greatest contribution thus far to this goal has been investing in the Spiral team, a group of open-source developers who work every day to make bitcoin more than an investment. Spiral has been directly behind the Lightning Development Kit, the Bitcoin Development Kit, the Bitcoin Design Community, and has provided grants to over 50 developers in more than 20 countries, leading to a dozen foundational open source bitcoin projects. The team has also been the inspiration for our Bitkey and mining hardware projects and has helped us think deeply about how finance technology shifts over time.

Global remittance, an $860 billion industry, is a use case that’s more urgently in need of better solutions today than everyday payments. This is why we created TBD, to solve cross-border funds flow without the need for going through a centralized exchange. TBD has created a protocol for on- and off-ramps from fiat to digital currencies that would allow anyone without a bank (~1.4 billion people) and with access to a mobile phone to participate in the larger global economy. We’ll discuss TBD in a future shareholder letter as we launch our first remittance product later this year.

Ultimately, making bitcoin more usable every day means seeing bitcoin as a medium of exchange for the internet, thus solving for the original problem Satoshi stated in the bitcoin white paper:

"Commerce on the Internet has come to rely almost exclusively on financial institutions serving as trusted third parties to process electronic payments.

…What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party."

The internet will have a native currency; it’s just a matter of time. Artificial Intelligence systems and agents will have to transact, and the most efficient way to do so will be a common protocol for money movement. Creative endeavors will rely heavily on micropayments, something that’s been discussed since the dawn of the internet, and finally being realized at scale with things like “zaps” (transferring small amounts of bitcoin via lightning) on the NOSTR protocol. Commerce will be less constrained by national borders, flowing freely around the world without gatekeepers or rent seekers.

This won’t happen overnight. The existing and emerging financial systems will operate in parallel for some time. There’s an opportunity to build cohesive and regulatory-compliant connections between these two worlds. This is where we’ve always flourished: at the intersection of regulations and innovative technology that can bring more people into the economy.

Recognizing the interconnectedness of the bitcoin ecosystem, we understand that our advancements foster collective growth, and the progress of others, in turn, benefits us. This synergy is pivotal; as the bitcoin ecosystem flourishes, so does Block. We were the first to recognize this potential and have reaped the benefits, but as others join, the advantages compound. The rising tide of bitcoin's growth lifts all boats, and our proactive contributions have positioned us at the forefront of this wave.

We also believe in investing in the overall asset of the ecosystem, and holding bitcoin in our treasury. Going forward, each month we will be investing 10% of our gross profit from bitcoin products into bitcoin purchases. We were one of the first public companies to put bitcoin on our balance sheet: we invested $220 million into bitcoin, and that investment has grown by approximately 160% to $573 million as of the end of the first quarter. We’re open sourcing our treasury blueprint so other companies can do the same: https://block.xyz/documents/bitcoin-blueprint.pdf

Historically and moving forward, our investment in bitcoin transcends technology; it is an investment in a future where economic empowerment is the norm. This commitment drives our business into new territories, unlocking novel opportunities for our customers, and securing enduring value for you, our shareholders.

Jack Dorsey answers “Why the hell are you all spending so much time on bitcoin?”

k00b

Education

Set in Ancon, a small town north of Lima, Peru, this documentary explores how the local community has embraced Bitcoin as a transformative financial tool
https://geyser.fund/project/perubitcoinpovertyandmotiv

A documentary on how Bitcoin and surfing are driving social change and empowerment in Mossel Bay, South Africa.
https://geyser.fund/project/lekkerfeeling

An investigative documentary exploring Cody Wilson's battle over the 1st Amendment and the right to share 3D-printed gun code online.
https://geyser.fund/project/deathathletic

Web-series with a mission, or as some may say, 'Bitcoin from Sesame Street'.
HERE COMES BITCOIN is a humorous set of short videos presenting Bitcoin as a life-size puppet in numerous everyday situations — meeting people, playing sports, eating, partying, and making jokes — all while trying to explain that being the future of money isn't easy
https://geyser.fund/project/whoisbitcoin

A biographical film celebrating the 150th anniversary of Carl Menger, founder of the Austrian School of Economics, and his pioneering work in economic theory.
https://geyser.fund/project/mengernotesonthemargin

A comedic short film about a Bitcoin novice navigating the complexities of cryptocurrency, produced on an extremely low budget by the Garcia Brothers.
https://geyser.fund/project/hodl

A feature-length documentary delving into the mysteries and conspiracies surrounding Bitcoin’s elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.
https://geyser.fund/project/searchingforsatoshi

An inside look at the passionate Bitcoin community in Texas and their belief in cryptocurrency's power to revolutionize America.
https://geyser.fund/project/bitcoiners

A dystopian feature film exploring resistance and the quest for human spirit under a technocratic regime, produced during the 2020 lockdown.
https://geyser.fund/project/godsoftheirownreligion

An animated series based on 'The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible' that combines adventure with financial education for young viewers.
https://geyser.fund/project/adventuresofjonathan

A chronicle of the early days of Bitcoin and the development of the BTCPay Server, highlighting its crucial role in Bitcoin's adoption for business transactions
https://geyser.fund/project/mytrustinyouisbroken

A feature documentary that looks at the most misunderstood and misrepresented aspect of Bitcoin - its energy consumption.
https://geyser.fund/project/dirtycointhecontroversybehindbitcoinmining