Philosophy

how to survive and thrive in the post nation-state AI driven reality

The heuristics in this post are practical strategies that build upon the foundational concepts in my Withering Trader’s Illustrated Primer. going to talk a bit about some things I’ve learned about rigged markets, signal extraction and how to fit market manipulation into your overall mosaic Rule 1: understanding you’re a gremlin not a genius. if you’re reading this chances are you’re not as smart as quants so don’t try to be. I practice a very special variety of quantitative trading, called “find someone rigging a market and front-run them”. Leave other quant strategies (like stat arb, or complex machine learning alphas) to PHDs. What I do is not even quant trading. It just uses quantitative methods to express a view that an asset is being rigged. ...

My investment philosophy is a direct extension of my broader life philosophy, which I call The Blackprint. It’s about applying a systematic, algorithmic approach to markets. For a more detailed, practical guide on how I apply these ideas in trading, see A Withering Trader’s Illustrated Primer. My Investment Philosophy as Best as I can explain. dfuq do I actually do A lot of people think I’m “insane” or “on drugs”, per Twitter discourse .I want to explain what I do for a living and how it all fits together. ...

This post explores a specific philosophical path that is highly relevant to the core ideas in The Blackprint. AI Good. Fiat Bad. What’s your plan, anon? What Is The Left Curve Most internet denizens know this meme by now… but, for reference It pays to keep it really simple. The Morpheus Bull A crypto bull market is arriving. It’s time to dial down the spiritual thought, the hobbies, the relationships. The meditations on what it means to be human. And focus on making money. ...

This manifesto contains early ideas that were later refined and expanded in The Blackprint. Why am I doing what I am doing? A direct summary of all the esoteric garbage I’ve produced. Dumbing it all down I’ve written a lot on this blog. I want to dumb it down. Speak in 10th grade English. Below I’m going to talk about what I think the dominant life strategy is, and why. Basically - it’s trying to make as much money as possible, at the intersection of crypto AI and capital markets, while living in Puerto Rico. This is - of course - extremely specific, and exactly what I’m doing. But this is my personal blog so - I suppose it only makes sense that this is deeply personal. Deal with it. ...

This reflection on personal strategy is an application of the self-assessment principles in The Blackprint. Maybe the Optimization Bros were a little right afterall. Implementing some changes Failed Health Plans After a stretch of health excellence I made a number of changes that have taken me the wrong direction Feels Bad Man My HRV is off a cliff (89 -> 69). Deep sleep way down (1 hour 30+ -> 45 mins). Lifts and running speed going in the wrong direction (-30% across the board). Screen time way up (45 min daily average to above 2.5 hours). ...

“The Mo” is a core concept in my personal philosophy, The Blackprint, and a key part of my trading strategy. channeling momentum, mojo, reading the universal mosaic Below I explore the idea of “the Mo” - or being in tune with the universe, in a useful way that allows you to take larger risks and do better work - but only in short bursts. Famous fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller has stated that the most fundamental job of a trader is knowing whether or not he has a “hot hand”. When you have a hot hand, you size up. When you are cold, you size down. It’s human nature to do the opposite - so there’s edge - sure. But what is a hot hand? Is it just a winning streak or is it something more? ...

The concept of “Utility Gaps” is a core part of the philosophical framework I introduce in The Blackprint. What the Optimization Bros Have Wrong and How to Fix It Willpower and Capability Gaps Consider “screen time”. Every Sunday, Apple Users get our screen time report. And every Sunday we say, “You know, next week I’d love for that to be below 1 hour per day.” And - it’s seldom below 1 hour per day. ...

This concept of enlightened hedonism is a key module within the overarching philosophy of The Blackprint. a philosophy for simple folk pursuing Faustian bargains with future Intelligence All things are either addictive, or non addictive. All activities either align with your true calling or they do not. Thus - any activity can fit into 4 quadrants Addictive and not aligned with your calling. This is the worst - examples would be injection drugs Addictive and aligned with your calling. An example would be taking uppers to go faster towards your goals. Or workaholism. Not addictive and not aligned with your calling. Most things in life. These can be split into pleasant and unpleasant Non addictive and aligned with your calling. An example would be going to yoga class, or prepping effectively for a trading day. My basic observation is that the pleasant activities in category 3 and nearly all things in category four are predictably good. ...

Memetics are a crucial part of the spiritual framework of The Blackprint. One man’s screen time is another man’s profit. Mental models and tools of a digital samurai. Screentime Check I’m sure you’ve experienced the same thing I have. Sunday comes around. Apple displays your weekly screen time. And you ask, “Wait, what the f*ck? How did I spend so much time on my iPhone? What was I thinking?” And, you probably know at some level, you weren’t thinking. And that was the entire point. ...