Blog: Synthesizing & Simplifying Complexity

Tools & Projects

Thanks for visiting my blog. As an ENTP, one of my greatest strengths is synthesizing, categorizing, and simplifying information. I write about topics like personal growth, motivation, feelings, group dynamics, and Myers-Briggs. I also work to simplify complex topics like COVID.

In this first section, you'll find the most detailed tools and projects I've created.

Last updated in 2021

Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Want to better understand who you are? My test goes deeper, beyond the usual "do you prefer staying home or going to a party?" This test delves into the cognitive functions and the fuller complexity of Myers-Briggs (yes, it's possible to be both introverted and extroverted depending on the situation!).

Last updated in 2021

Intro to Race in the United States for White People

This is a non-political introduction to how race works in this country (written by an ENTP): where race came from and how it factors into America today. This is not at all about political correctness, and I'm firmly against shaming people. It's my attempt to explain a complex topic to other white people with clarity and kindness.

Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is my newest obsession. As an ENTP in Myers-Briggs, I love that crypto is so multidisciplinary. It really feeds my cognitive functions of Ne (i.e., exploring possibilities) and Ti (i.e., logical accuracy). Especially if you're an ENTP or INTP as well, I believe this will fascinate you.

Cryptocurrency is about a lot more than just making money. We'll get there in later posts in the series, but first, I want to help you understand how crypto actually works (including how it will transform society, promote social justice, lead to brand new forms of art and creativity, form the foundation of futuristic online worlds, and protect personal autonomy).

You might be wondering:

Did El Salvador really make Bitcoin an official currency you can pay taxes with? Yes.
Did an NFT (i.e., a piece of art that lives inside cryptocurrency) really sell for $69 million? Yes.
Is Bitcoin actually useful for anything, or is it just creating a lot of needless pollution? Yes.

There's a lot to unpack here, and most educational resources I've come across are either way too simplistic or way too advanced.

I'll start at the very beginning and gently guide you through all the concepts you need to understand to feel comfortable with cryptocurrency. There's so much potential here, but I want to do what I can to protect you from getting scammed or making costly mistakes.

I certainly won't claim to be an expert, but I've spent many hundreds of hours studying all this, and I'm continuing to learn and make mistakes every day.

My goal with this series is to get you excited about what's possible here, and then to help you out by sharing what I wish I'd known back when I got started.

This is for you whether you're brand new to crypto (maybe even brand new to investing in general), a seasoned investor wanting to dive deep for potentially huge returns, or a non-techie passionate about social justice, personal freedom, or moving toward a utopian future for humanity.

P.S. If you'd prefer to listen to this series instead: I've already made the first few episodes available in podcast format and I'm working on the rest of them. You can find everything on Spotify or iTunes.

June 15, 2021

#0 in series

Overview of my series, who this is for, why you might consider listening to me, and how easy it is to think you understand crypto when you actually don’t

Why this information might be useful for almost anyone; my background in the tech industry; how easy it is to lose money in crypto, and why you need to be careful; overview of how this series is organized.

April 11, 2021

#1 in series

Why should I care? What’s in it for me? Why is crypto important (it’s about a lot more than just making money!)?

Why crypto is interesting; feeling like you're too late to the party; 10 reasons crypto is useful; why Bitcoin is important for social justice.

show more crypto posts

May 4, 2021

#2 in series

How crypto actually works, why Bitcoin is valuable (even if it’s just “made up!”), and what you should know about blockchains (the tech behind them and how they could influence the future of our world)

Why money is useful at the foundational level; characteristics of a currency; why the price of Bitcoin (and Dogecoin!) keeps going up; explanations of ledgers and blockchains; how you would actually buy something with Bitcoin; where all this might lead in the future.

May 4, 2021

#3 in series

How the blockchain keeps running, where new Bitcoins come from (i.e., how mining works), and concerns about Bitcoin’s environmental impact

How the blockchain actually works; who's paying for all this; what proof-of-work actually means; the consequences of the competitive mining landscape; how we can fix Bitcoin's pollution problem.

May 6, 2021

#4 in series

How crypto offers autonomy, why it can’t be stopped, and the value of decentralization

How Bitcoin can lead to freedom and safety; how it can survive pressure from governments; what it means when power is decentralized; why you can trust that your money is safe in the blockchain.

May 12, 2021

#5 in series

How to actually store and use Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies), a basic intro to cryptography, and how wallets and keys work

An explanation of wallets from simple to complex; how transactions function through cryptography.

May 14, 2021

#6 in series

Overview of the different types of wallets, which one is best for you, what to be careful of, and why a hardware wallet might be worth the investment

Detailed comparison of wallet categories, along with an explanation of the tech behind them; important safety measures; what I use myself, and specific recommendations for different types of people.

June 9, 2021

#7 in series

Ethereum (the #2 most popular cryptocurrency, and the one I'm most excited about), smart contracts, dapps, gas (and the high gas fee problem), Proof of Stake (PoS), and Ethereum 2.0

Quick review of everything we've covered so far; explanation of Ethereum, smart contracts, and dapps; understanding gas, why gas fees have been so high, and the solutions being worked on.

June 17, 2021

#8 in series

Coins vs. tokens, and some real Ethereum use cases—oracles and DEX’s

What Ethereum can do; five big categories of use cases; explanation of oracles and Chainlink (LINK); coins versus tokens; ERC-20 tokens; explanation of DEX's and CEX's; DEX's versus CEX's.

June 30, 2021

#9 in series

Intro to NFT’s (collectibles, research funding & historical significance, and music)

Quick review of Ethereum; explanation of NFT's and fungibility; why you should care about NFT's; NFT category #1: collectibles; NFT category #2: research funding and historical significance; NFT category #3: music and generative music

July 31, 2021

#10 in series

More categories of NFT’s (art, video games, virtual reality)

NFT Category #4: art; philosophical and ethical considerations; programmable dynamic art; generative art; NFT category #5: video game characters, in-game items, objects in virtual reality

August 1, 2021

#11 in series

Wrapping up NFT’s (what you can actually do with them, upsides, downsides, risks)

What you can actually do with NFT's; upsides, downsides, risks of NFT's; where you can find NFT's and whether or not you should buy them

August 1, 2021

#12 in series

DAO’s (organizations managed by algorithms, governance tokens, collective ownership, and the “network state”)

Organizations managed by algorithms; collective bargaining; the road to the "network state"; why DAO's will be more successful than traditional corporations; examples of popular and interesting DAO's

Soon

#13 in series

DeFi (decentralized finance): yield farming, liquidity staking, and more

Coming soon

Habits & Willpower

One of the most common challenges I hear from people I coach is low motivation and trouble sticking to new habits. Here's everything you need to know to get started with science-backed habit creation.

November 19, 2017

#1/2 in series

How to get unstuck, develop habits, and change your behavior

I explain how habits work and how to change them based on the latest research in behavioral psychology.

October 31, 2020

#2/2 in series

How to add multiple new habits at once—especially for ENTPs and ENFPs

I’d always read that new habits have to be developed one at a time. That didn’t work for me because I can never pick just one. Then I discovered a technique that lets me work on multiple changes in my life at once, and without using up all my willpower.

Myers-Briggs

I often weave Myers-Briggs into a variety of my blog posts, but this section is for posts specifically about typology.

January 31, 2021

ENTP or INTP? How to tell the difference

Since ENTP’s are one of the most introverted of the extrovert types, it’s common for NTP’s to be confused about whether they’re an I or an E. It doesn’t help that the Internet is full of stereotypes and exaggerated memes about both of these types too. In my new blog post I break down the most prominent differences I’ve personally seen between those two types after having coached dozens of NTP’s.

Personal Growth

This section contains posts on a variety of topics related to personal growth.

February 12, 2021

How I decided what to charge: what’s logical and ethical when you’re doing what you love?

The single biggest challenge for me since starting my private coaching practice (other than the impostor syndrome) has been deciding what to charge. In this post, I analyze all the arguments I’ve heard and figure out what makes the most ethical and logical sense for pricing my coaching services. I’ll also cover some of the most common psychological biases and pricing tactics I’ve seen used in the industry.

March 12, 2018

How to become a more empathetic communicator

I kept hearing people saying that they were “holding space” for me, but it took me months to understand what that really meant. In this post, I unpack that phrase. I’ll explain how to be truly present in a conversation, and how that will help you become a far more empathetic friend and partner.

October 17, 2017

Free your mind: Change the stories you tell yourself

Ever realize that you’ve been telling yourself a story for years that’s not actually true? These stories are at the heart of how we see ourselves in the world. They set your expectations, and they help you rationalize when things don’t go your way.

COVID-19 / Pandemic

I'm not a medical professional, but I was frustrated by all the misinformation and confusing advice out there on COVID-19.

So, I did a lot of research (synthesizing hundreds of articles) and created this series of posts with everything you need to know from how to keep a "bubble" or "pod" safe, to which specific masks are best, to the latest information about the virus "variants" and vaccines.

March 24, 2021

#5/5 in series

How COVID risk changes once you or your friends have been vaccinated

How does risk change once you've been vaccinated? What if one person in your pod isn't vaccinated? Can you be intimate with a vaccinated person you've been dating online?

February 11, 2021

#4/5 in series

Why it’s especially important to be extra vigilant right now and why it’s safe to take the vaccine

Here we are a year into the pandemic and things are looking up—we have a vaccine, but daily life in this strange time is still hard, and the new mutated variants of the coronavirus are real cause for concern.

October 31, 2020

#3/5 in series

Risk Management: Why you should care, and how to objectively calculate risk (using tools based on epidemiology and statistics)

Why safety is important (especially in a community house), how your choices impact others, and specific advice for navigating risk objectively in a science-based way that balances freedom/autonomy with safety.

September 1, 2020

#2/5 in series

Lessons from my 7-person house during a pandemic: how to navigate feelings and create effective agreements (plus, tips on translating those lessons to the workplace)

Concrete guidance on navigating COVID-19 with your household or "bubble," and lessons for working through challenging emotions that could apply to your teams in the workplace, friend groups, and families too.

August 29, 2020

#1/5 in series (somewhat outdated now)

What you need to know beyond just "wear a mask, wash your hands, and keep 6ft apart"

If you're like me, at this point you're sick of COVID conversations about what's actually safe and what level of precaution makes sense. Here are some of the most science-backed steps to take to stay safe.