Ben Roy

Writing a book is the hardest thing I've ever done It's like trying to build a startup, but even fewer people think it's going to succeed & even close friends + family think you're sort of insane to spend time trying to compete in this lane, especially in a world where the amount of people who read books is shrinking The reason I've been writing (and why I will continue to write full time until the book is finished this summer) is creative compulsion: I've been thinking about this thing and taking notes for it since I was 17 years old, and it feels like I can't pass to the next level of the game of existence until it's done >I'll be happy if 100 people read it or 100,000 people do, but the ultimate goal is to tell a good story... to say something true and universal that makes people who read it understand something new about themselves (and about the human condition broadly) My hope is that it leads to a lot of fun conversations, and I'm excited for the day when I get to share it with the people who I've made friends with on this app over the years >I do miss posting and being more active here, but there's a lot more work and a lot more days in the library between now and then, so I'll still be quieter on the timeline for the next few months I will say though, it's sort of peaceful knowing that you're working on the thing you need to be working on... I hope everyone gets to experience that sense of alignment at some point in their lives

@zackrosenblatt_ @Dorm_DAO @CUBlockchain @txblockchain @USTABlockchain @MichBlockchain @overminn @JuliasOrbit86 @jhandlerMB @HugoOkada 👑

Visited DC w/ 6 of our outstanding @Dorm_DAO students, hailing from @CUBlockchain, @txblockchain, @USTABlockchain & @MichBlockchain Each student, strategizing their own career in crypto, but facing much of the same regulatory uncertainty that has influenced the way all founders have built in our space for the past 10 years. The trip allowed our students to ask real questions of the folks shaping the future. to chat intimately with policy advocates, lawmakers and regulators on the steady crypto reg progress being made in Washington. A few notes on our visits crisscrossing DC: Our first stop was @BlockchainAssn & @SolanaInstitute. @DanSpuller, @SummerMersinger and the BA team have dedicated much of their careers to advocating for the collective industry. It's clear they understand the responsibility that comes w/ being crypto's unified voice in DC. they are working hard - among a wide array of competing priorities - to ensure all of crypto can win under this government regime. it's a tall task, but simply meeting with their team, it's clear how locked in they are on the opportunity. We heard from @thecolinmclaren & @RachelGreenHorn, who are committed to educating policy makers on the core promises of blockchain-based technology, within the Solana eco, and the larger space. Also got a chance to swing by the @HyperliquidPC's office, tucked away inside the BA's floor. a small but mighty team, led by @jchervinsky, quietly plotting a path to bringing Hyperliquid's powerful engine to US investors. pretty cool to see in action. Next was the @SECGov's Crypto Task Force, where our students presented to @HesterPeirce's staff on three important topics: 1. stablecoins + yield dynamics 2. on-chain credit + mortgage markets 3. token networks as capital formation tools Special shoutout to @overminn and @JuliasOrbit86 for courageously walking SEC staff through the "OpenAI token" scenario - a fairly radical idea w/ real implications. (agenda here: sec.gov/files/ctf-memo…) One thing i'll say about the task force: @HesterPeirce and Taylor Lindman have assembled an excellent staff that not only deeply understands the intricacies of our industry's core products & services, but are now honing in on the exact sequence of levers to give the industry's capital markets the clarity we've all been asking for. After lunch, we made a quick stop at Chairwoman @RepLisaMcClain's house leadership office - the "command center" of the @HouseGOP. among (quite literally) a million different agenda goals, it was notable to hear the Chairwoman's staff articulate a real sense of urgency around the passage of CLARITY - not a given after months of brutal senate deadlock. Our last stop was the @CFTC, where we met with staff from the newly formed Innovation Task Force, led by @passalacqua_mj. we engaged in a wide ranging discussion, covering compute markets, token mechanics, CFTC's federal jurisdiction, cooperation w/ international counterparts and AI's potential job displacement. There was something astonishing about regulators willing to explore these emerging topics in real time, rather than just reacting to them after the fact. I left w/ the sense that many of these conversations will materialize in action much earlier than most folks realize. All-in-all, what stood out was not any single meeting, but a broad-based push - by crypto-native experts - to make the most of the opportunity set in front of us. And optimism that we are on the precipice of real progress in the convergence of policy, capital markets and distributed systems. Bullish @MichaelSelig/@passalacqua_mj's team, Bullish @RepLisaMcClain team, Bullish @HesterPeirce's team, Bullish @SummerMersinger/@DanSpuller's team & bullish AI, Crypto and America. 🇺🇸

@jonmoore202 holy shit a real life jmo post

i think we'll see a resurgence in CPG applied AI helps create better, personalized products that can command more attractive margins at lower CAC improved unit economics will expand the surface area of interested VCs and capital who are priced out of AI at the app layer / concerned about constant disruption from foundational models atoms and bits. not one or the other

@DancingEddie_ Congrats dude 🥂👑

Just finished law school

@RChan747 💀

@benroy youtu.be/AyKn5uuaEEw?si…

When someone calls you buddy (as a man)

@benroy ok chief

@poof_eth lmao >if I ever get a puff piece it's going to be like: by age 12 he still couldn't make his own lunch, at 17 he was finally middling, by 23 etc.

Founder puff pieces be like: At 6, he was the world champion of cup stacking. At 12, he sent Peter Shor a letter, which inspired Shor's algorithm. Today he’s building God for spreadsheets, and insists he will make sure AGI spares at least half of the population.

@0xFnkl Yeah no yeah

@benroy Ya no for sure

@0xFnkl yeah real

@benroy 🇨🇦 problems

@mpeyfuss @derekedws lmao, Derek gets the pass

@benroy Is this how you react when @derekedws messages you? Or am I the only one that gets "hey buddy" from Derek lol

@chilltulpa immediately

@benroy immediately maddening

why does ARC need a token if circle has stock

@rektdiomedes 100p

I feel like there is massive life alfa in reading old books (and even watching old movies) from way back in the day.... 19th century literature... 1930's movies, etc... Most people's understanding of history and life is basically just a reflection of a very specific and astroturfed modern day collection of films and televsion and public school curriculums.

You have to be filling your brain with esoteric inputs if you want to avoid turning into an NPC by talking to Claude/ChatGPT all day... input = output so if we only consume vapid LLM writing it's going to flatten our souls (& originality) and make us all think + sound the same

@saintsonso ++

this was already happening with catering content towards social media algorithms btw

@peace_node Trying my best out here

@benroy this is a good baseline

>This doesn't have to be that deep, but get outside of normiecore training data like your life depends on it (because it does)

Read old russian short stories, try to understand computer science papers from the 50s, go to plays in your city, watch old sci fi movies & be alone with the weirdness of your own thoughts Whatever floats your boat