Wiser Than Yesterday: Book club

NFTs (Non-Fungible Token), explainedA non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a digital ledger (blockchain). NFTs can be associated with easily-reproducible items such as photos, videos, 3D models, audio, and other types of digital files as unique items (analogous to a certificate of authenticity). NFTs use blockchain technology to provide a public proof of ownership. Copies of the original file are not restricted to the owner of the NFT, and can be copied and shared like any file. The lack of interchangeability (fungibility) distinguishes NFTs from blockchain cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.NFTs have drawn criticism with respect to the energy cost and carbon footprint associated with validating blockchain transactions as well as its frequent use in art scams. Further criticisms challenge the usefulness of establishing proof of ownership in an unregulated market based on digital files that are easy to copy.Resource: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-fungible_token)Key TakeawaysThe difference between fungible tokens and non-fungible tokens is fungible tokens are cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin while non-fungible tokens are unit of data that represent a unique digital asset stored and verified on the blockchain.NFT represents a lot of things (which is usually a picture). It is also a pointer within the URL to that picture which is usually stored in an interplanetary file system.NFTs are not divisible but can be fractionalized.There are four major types of NFTs which are: cryptopunks, bored ape yacht club crypto (BAYC), game NFTs, and collectible NFTs.Currently, art is the second biggest pillar of NFTs with two types of art which is an original art and generative art.Original art type of NFTs are designed in a software like an image or GIF and sells it as an NFT.Generative art type of NFTs are designed through an algorithm that will create the art on the moment it is minted. Subscribe!If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends!You can also listen and join us on ReasonFM (https://reason.fm/podcast/wiser-than-yesterday) or just ask questions. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Bitcoin Standard: The Decentralized Alternative to Central BankingBy Saifedean AmmousThe Bitcoin Standard analyzes the historical context to the rise of bitcoin, the economic properties that have allowed it to grow quickly, and its likely economic, political, and social implications. While Bitcoin is a new invention of the digital age, the problem it purports to solve is as old as human society itself: transferring value across time and space. Ammous takes the reader on an engaging journey through the history of technologies performing the functions of money, from primitive systems of trading limestones and seashells, to metals, coins, the gold standard, and modern government debt. Key TakeawaysThe sound money means government cannot easily make more while unsound money means that they can make more.Bitcoin was the first engineering solution that allowed for digital payments without having to rely on a trusted third-party intermediary. By being the first digital object that is verifiably scarce, Bitcoin is the first example of digital cash.Gold became the basis for sound money.Host rating for 'The Bitcoin Standard'NicoRating: 9/10SamRating: 8.5/10Subscribe!If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends!You can also listen and join us on ReasonFM (https://reason.fm/podcast/wiser-than-yesterday) or just ask questions. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Intelligent InvestorBy Benjamin GrahamThe Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham, first published in 1949, is a widely acclaimed book on value investing. The book provides strategies on how to successfully use value investing in the stock market. Historically, the book has been one of the most popular books on investing and Graham’s legacy remains. Key TakeawaysInvestment is not gambling or speculatingAn investment is going to protect the principal and provide an adequate return. Anything that does not meet these criteria is speculation. Margin of SafetyIn simple term, Graham's goal was to buy a dollars worth of assets for $0.50Defensive InvestorNot every investor has a lot of time to analyze the stock and invest. Graham said that the majority of people should be a defensive investor. He said, aim for an investment portfolio of 50-50 split between stocks and bonds, and rebalance every year base on the changes.Enterprising InvestorThis kind of investor has a lot of time to spend looking at the market. As enterprising investor, you can choose the correct stocks and bonds to invest in.Host rating for 'The Intelligent Investor'NicoRating: 6/10SamRating: 5/10Subscribe!If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Talking To My Daughter About The Economy: A Brief istory of CapitalismBy Yanis VaroufakisIn this letter to his teenage daughter, one of the world's most famous economists uses vivid stories to explain what economics is and why it is so dangerous. What is money and why does debt exist? Where do wealth and inequality come from? How come economics has the power to shape and destroy our lives? Economics is not a technical science, it is an epic drama: a battleground of ideas, a war between the powerful for our allegiance. In this universally accessible book, Yanis Varoufakis describes how this drama first emerged and has since come to dominate the fate of human societies worldwide. In answering all of the big questions about money and debt, power and inequality, he shows how economics has sought to solve the problems of our world but ended up being a major cause of many of them. Drawing on history and literature, science fiction and personal memories, this intimate and inspiring book shines a light for readers of all ages on some of the most bewildering questions and important challenges that humanity faces.Key TakeawaysSurplus is what made Europeans conquer Australia, and not the other way around.Having a surplus meant noting down who gets how much of it and when (creating the need for money, writing, bureaucracy).Capitalism, shows Varoufakis, is the most efficient machine ever invented for generating this surplus, though with one fatal flaw: it is structurally prone to increasing inequality, which also makes it susceptible to periodic crises.Host rating for 'Talking To My Daughter About The Economy'NicoRating: 8/10SamRating: 9.5/10Subscribe!If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introduction to InvestingWe live in a capitalistic society, where everything revolves around adding value. Adding value can be anything: farmers, bakers, architects, artists, teachers, athletes. When you go to school, you are being trained to bring value to society. After you finish school and start working, you are being paid for creating value. In this episode, we will lay down the groundwork for the rest of the book that we will be reading in this season. We will also discuss why should everyone should take investing seriously or at least think about.Subscribe!If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recap of the human body books that we have readIf Our Bodies Could Talk: A Guide to Operating and Maintaining a Human Body - James HamblinWhy We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams - Matthew WalkerBreath: The New Science of a Lost Art - James NestorLifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don't Have To - David SinclairGut: The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Underrated Organ - Giulia EndersBurn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay Healthy - Herman PontzerDeath by Food Pyramid: How Shoddy Science, Sketchy Politics and Shady Special Interests Have Ruined Our Health - _Denise Minger _Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen - Christopher McDougallNico's Top 3Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don't Have ToBurn: New Research Blows the Lid Off How We Really Burn Calories, Lose Weight, and Stay HealthyWhy We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and DreamsSam's Top 3Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and DreamsLifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don't Have To Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never SeenSubscribe!If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never SeenBy Christopher McDougallInspiration for reading this book came when Nico's friend came for dinner wearing these weird-ass shoes. Naturally - he asked him about it, cause Nico love weird stuff, and told him that humans have evolved to walk and run barefoot, and that cushioned shoes are the reason why so many people have issues in their knees, hips and backs, both from running but also from daily life.And the best way to convince Nico of anything is to tell him that ancient humans used to do it differently. So he was immediately convinced and told Sam that they should read Born to Run for the body series. Although, they already started the recordings for the next season on investing. So here they are!Key Takeaways*The power of chia: dissolve chia seeds in water with sugar and lime juice. Chia are packed full of Omega 3s, Omega 6s, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber and antioxidants.* There are hidden truths about modern running shoes, that big brand s don't want you to know.* We are made to run long distances.* Small strides has benefits.* Lot of ultra marathoners go vegan.* Tarahumara just don't run, they live in a nature.Subscribe!If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Death by Food Pyramid: How Shoddy Science, Sketchy Politics and Shady Special Interests Have Ruined Our HealthBy Denis MingerDenise Minger shares her personal story about how she got convinced to go all-out raw vegan at a pretty young age. She initially saw tremendous health improvements, but after a while she started losing a lot of weight. She decided to stop eating vegan after her dentist told her that he/she had never seen such bad teeth in someone her age. She exposes the forces that overrode common sense and solid science to launch a pyramid phenomenon that bled far beyond US borders to taint the eating habits of the entire developed world.At the end, she makes a comparison between three of the most popular diets, and instead of looking at their differences, she looks at what they have in common.Paleo DietEat like our ancestors, focused on unprocessed foodsCaveat: _some vegetables are starchy and some fruits are high in sugar _Mediterranean DietLots of Veggies, grains and olive oil.Caveat: also snails and fastingPlant-based DietCentered around unprocessed starches, along with some non-starchy vegetables and some fruit. Caveat: No known human population has ever lived exclusively on plants and thrivedTogether, these three diets omit:* Refined sugar* Refined flour* Processed vegetable oils* Anything coming in a plastic or tinfoil, microwaveable package* Anything too processedKey TakeawaysEliminate Refined carbsEliminate Refined sugarsEliminate High omega 6 vegetable oilsSecure a source of essential fat-soluble vitamins (shellfish, fish-eggs, high fat dairy, organ meat, cod liver oil) OK to have small amountsFind nutrient-dense foods from the animal and plant kingdom, including seaweeds, fruits, berries, vegetablesFor animal foods: replace muscle meat by nose-to-tail eatingRespect your genetics (keep track of you blood markers)Don’t fall into group thinking, don’t become your dietHealth is more than what you shove in your mouthSubscribe!If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Burn: The Misunderstood Science of MetabolismBy Herman PontzerWe burn 2,000 calories a day. And if we exercise and cut carbs, we'll lose more weight. Right? Wrong.the Hadza, who every day move around for ~4 hours and 15,000 steps, use the same amount of energy as couch-potato North Americans.Exercise doesn't increase our metabolism. Instead, we burn calories within a very narrow range: nearly 3,000 calories per day, no matter our activity level.Our extremely effective "metabolic compensation" shifts calories around so we break even at the end of the day no matter how much we move.Basically, you can't lose weight through exercise. Reducing caloric intake is the only way. HOWEVER, the manifold health benefits of exercise still make it the single most healthful activity we can do.The best diet is the one we can stick to.It may be that the most spectacular athletic feats are the result not just of great training, but of an astonishingly efficient digestive system.Interesting points:Faster metabolism = more fat reserves needed (humans have more fat than apes). Metabolism is not optimized for ‘looking good’ or even being healthy, it is shaped by natural selection to optimize for reproductionThe slower a species burns energy, the longer it tends to live. Exercise makes you live longer by consuming energy that would otherwise go to other things.Difference between animals: mouses channel most energy in reproducing, sparrows can channel more into maintenance and repairWe match the energy we expend to the energy we eat each day (hard to maintain weight loss)Calorie restriction reduces base metabolic rate of cells. They work slowerWhy are we fat? Food. Too much variety + engineered food designed to be overeatenHumans focus on survival over reproduction (kids fighting disease grow less)If you excercise, less energy can go to inflammationHigh physical activity -> lower testosterone (good thing, lower rate of cancers inn reproducttive systems)Cooked food has more available caloriesComments:Disappointing that the whole book used the imperial systemNot many solutionsSubscribe!If you enjoyed the podcast please subscribe and rate it. And of course, share with your friends! Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organby Giulia EndersFor too long, the gut has been the body’s most ignored and least appreciated organ, but it turns out that it’s responsible for more than just dirty work: our gut is (literally and figuratively) at the core of who we are. The book starts with a voyage through our full digestive tract, discussing the pain-killing powers of our saliva, the shape and structure of our intestines, and the best position to sit on the toilet. The second part discusses the nervous system of the gut, why we vomit, why we have acid reflux and what causes constipation or diarrhea. In the final part it discusses what was for me the most important/relevant part, which is the microbiome in our gut, which has more effect on our lives than we could imagine. The book was easy to read, did not contain too much jargon and tried to keep things light.Interesting facts: 95% of our body's serotonin is produced in our gut.having a baby by caesarean section can leave the child more prone to asthmalinks between certain gut flora and depression, risk taking, and suicideToo much cleanliness is a bad thing (babies born on antarctica) Bacteria might help longevity (bulgarian yoghurt), Korean paradox (high salt, low hypertension and cardiovascular disease)Actionable advice:Do something good for your gut flora.Eat some prebiotic foods such as artichokes, asparagus, green banana, garlic, onions, parsnips, whole wheat, rye, oats or leeks.Help your bacteria.You feel much better when you help your bacteria process the food you eat every day. Therefore, better grab the whole-grain bread instead of that baguette. Don't Forget to leave a comment on this episode See podvine.com/privacy-policy for podcast listener privacy info. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.