ceo @conduct_xyz research @stanford_FDCI | prev cso @topl_protocol head of ventures @blockchainag investor @DDA_GmbH @eigencapital alumn @columbia @Tsinghua_Uni
At dinner ~two weeks ago in the Bahamas, @zmanian articulated how Terra’s implosion would be LTCM-style blow up and lead us into bear market. We each guessed how long would take. @zmanian said imminent. @lalalavendr said one month. I said one year. Key to life is smart friends.✌🏼
5/ Lastly, I think we should’ve focused a ton more when Liz says that the first version of Theranos could actually do 12 tests with a prick of blood. If this is really true then it would’ve been extraordinary for its time and we should do a deep dive on which tests those were, immediately. Ofc she could be lying and probably is. I do think that John C. was paid off by a competitor and we should focus on that fact, too. Also, if it was really true that they gave her the chance to settle and get a lesser sentence or no sentence if she admitted wrongdoing, and she didn’t do that, I really think we should ask ourselves why? Maybe she actually is truly delusional in every sense of the word and not a psychopath? She states she didn’t settle in the film because she wants people to know the “truth” but who can ever tell what is real or not with these people. The end!
4/ speaking of that scene! I didn’t realize it was really Lance Oppenheim in the scene - wonder if it was also the real A24 execs? And I will always believe Chris Abbott can’t act and potentially was chosen to make Billy look even worse than he is. Penultimately, I didn’t notice the first time around that Liz is really wearing *the same fucking cashmere sweater* the entire film. Does she not sweat? Did she do this so they could splice the footage from a time horizon differential and thus be more manipulative? Does she not have more clothes? Does she have a ton of the same sweater? Did she dry clean it?
3/ and, to be fair, well he wasn’t even in Austin he was in Bryan (or we’re being told that’s where they are…). Anyways, another salient point about his first showing on camera is Nathan asks about Theranos 2.0 and Billy says “it’s not just plans, it’s plans in actions” or “it’s plans and actions” - couldn’t hear - which are both technically grammatically correct but awkward turns of phrase - think he meant “it’s plans in motion” but it supports idea of him being some sort of galoot or buffoon. Later, when he’s being played by Chris Abbott they purposefully have him fuck up grammatically @ the big meeting and I think this is a reference to that scene. He’s supposed to look kind of stupid.
1/ Watched YCSE w/ friend for a second time today, and a few things stand out now, more so than before. The first showing audience laughed every 2-3 min on average, this one barely did (somber, angry reactions all around) yet the only gasp was at the same [charlie kirk] moment🧵
2/ Secondly, my immediate first reaction to Billy was that he was on uppers of some kind (sniffling didn’t help), and one of his first closeups proved it: his pupils are *heavily dilated* which in my experience only happens when you’re severely fucked up on something that isn’t prescribed. And his paranoia, telling Nathan that “in case something happens to him” he needs a video of himself is textbook. If I were going to give him the benefit of the doubt I would say Austin is famous for its propensity to produce pollen (and allergies) in its populace but we don’t know if he’s sensitive to pollen.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp says all smart people hide their intelligence:
"One of the ways you make it to the top is you hide how smart you are."
"Every single person who has shared how intelligent they are tells you how stupid they are."