Best of Twitter - Week of July 27, 2020
An interesting thing happened on the internet with week. U.S. travel management firm was hit with Ragnar Locker ransomware. The company agreed to pay and handed over $4.5 mln in bitcoin reut.rs/3jXvpRY
But the online chat room where the ransom negotiations took place was left online, giving a rare and *incredibly* interesting insight into how these things actually go down
the main issue with video games is that a guy who, if he lived in 1820s germany, would have done something like document every type of beetle in his local province instead ends up making a 26 part youtube series about how to get all the rings in every sonic game
might be part of the reason society is slipping a little. every field needs those guys on the far end of the curve who cant talk to other people but have the inclination to dissect and study every seed around them to be putting in that work. instead that guy is speedrunning rn
@owenbroadcast People who would have become philosophers and historical theorists are now making years long series about the minutiae of the Elder Scrolls lore
The least told founder story in startup-land:
📅 Eight years in
🌟 Product being lapped by new entrants
🪙 Good not great revenue, moderate growth
⚖️ Teetering on edge of profitability
🐜 Team is antsy, harder to retain/recruit
🔒 Overvalued in prior fundraise, limited exit ops
Stimulating speculation about different approaches to AI research, by @gwern: lesswrong.com/posts/N6vZEnCn…
Housing isn’t a great investment but for most people it’s the best investment they will ever make because it’s the only asset they will leave alone and let compound for 10,20,30 years.
I'm launching a newsletter, subscribe here: eriktorenberg.substack.com
I've held off for a few years because I forgot the first rule of tackling any creative project: Announce that you're doing it. Peer pressure handles the rest.
^ first post is great: https://eriktorenberg.substack.com/p/starting-a-company-is-less-risky
I am skeptical of consensus opinions on any complex subject, because such a consensus is usually not the result of all the experts independently reaching the same conclusion, but of consensus building forces. The application of force will distort what's considered to be true.
Taboos prohibiting consumption of various nutrient dense foods among populations that are chronically undernourished is difficult to explain functionally. Human's reliance on culture and social learning means maladaptive beliefs can spread.