Oddbean

Today marks exactly 1.5 years since my first nostr post, perfectly timed at the end of Nostrasia! I want to post some observations. The way humanity organizes and communicates is fundamental to what kind of world it creates. This is why those who want to control the outcome for their own benefit usually seek to mediate and manipulate the connections between individuals. What makes THE NOSTR so powerful is that it provides resistance against this type of manipulation. Where Bitcoin gives us money that can be used without a third party, nostr gives us a social graph that can be used without a third party. But with this power comes responsibility, of course. By using nostr, we are able to take full responsibility for our words in a way that isn't possible when our connection to the rest of humanity is mediated by a third party. We alone are responsible for the impact our words have on the world as they propagate through humanity and impact the words and actions of others. Being untruthful to ourselves and others introduces our own form of manipulation that legacy social networks introduced through central control. As the world is pushed towards an avalanche of confusion and uncertainty, truth and humility is solid ground that we can grab onto as everything else falls away. But being true is hard work, it doesn't just mean being true to yourself and others, but also not believing and propagating the lies of others. This is becoming increasingly critical as powerful interests push the world towards lethal conflict and the truth becomes incredibly difficult to find. Your actions as an individual within nostr determine what nostr actually is, and THE NOSTR can only reach its full potential if YOU reach your full potential as an individual. This is why we all have a responsibility to do the best we can with the gifts we've been given. Being able to gather together in Costa Rica and Tokyo have been some of the most powerful experiences of my life. It allows us to make our human network stronger and more resilient to attack, but more importantly it reminds us that we ARE human. We have all the building blocks we need to create a nostr that enables humanity live up to its full potential. Let's fucking go!