New frontiers – the pillars of a modern education

Two brief thoughts today:

1. I’d like to be able to look upon any circumstance in life with a smirk of amusement. An attitude of amusement – that’s how you punch back at the tragedies in life.

2. To think that it’s the most exciting time to be alive – that’s a worthy thought to have each day. Probably every technologist and artist has felt this way throughout history. It’s the constant fight against complacency and desensitization. Louis C.K. had a bit about people on airplanes complaining about 30-minute delays… “What’s the problem?! You’re still about to take part in the miracle of flight.”

I feel fortunate to have the internet and social platforms where individuals can broadcast ideas at a scale previously only possible by several established TV networks. I’m grateful for the proliferation of software, open-source and private. And have a particular interest in cryptocurrency and DeFi. What a rich-space this is. So many new projects and no one really knows what to make of it all. People complain about the risk and speculative nature of DeFi – this uncertainty of what it is makes it so exciting for the technologist. It rightfully intimidates the investor but presents a new frontier with enormous upside. Data science, ML and advances in computation are bringing more change that we cannot foresee.

Now the cherry on top? Virtually anyone in the world can educate themselves and become competent in these domains via online education. And we’ll see more disruptive edtech with COVID acting as a catalyst for remote, democratized learning.

“Bitcoin is trending”… thanks a lot Coinbase

See the picture for an example of poor UX in Coinbase. It’s really no secret that Bitcoin is in a bull market.if I invest in it now, I will likely see gains in the short to medium-term. But that’s exactly the point, I’m not sure what my time horizon should be on this trade at this point, I’m not sure of Bitcoins value.

That’s why I downloaded Coinbase and am learning about the fundamentals of blockchains and cryptocurrencies. I definitely don’t need an anxiety provoking notification implying that I’m missing out on a hot trade.

Finance apps especially should carefully consider their default notification policies. Truly, this experience moves me further in the direction of opting for a decentralized exchange, not that I see a centralized exchange like Coinbase can’t pass up the opportunity to boost user engagement. Feels like a needy kid tugging at your shirt. I get that profit is an imperative, I generally like capitalism, but it’s strange to be reminded of it by a company whose underlying technology that critiques this kind of corporate centralization.