Ryan Research Newsletter 8/29/21
Hello all,
Thanks to everyone that took the plunge and read my dissertation on Irish economic history. I’ll be sharing some lighter content more frequently. This newsletter format will serve as a new container for twitter threads, collaborations, and anything I find interesting that’s not my usual long-form article or podcast.
1.) My Negative Review of “The Blocksize War” by Jonathan Bier.
I take Bier to task on his erroneous bitcoin history book. He provides a useful timeline of the big events but completely misses nuance and substance. The larger bitcoin gets, the more important the objective truth of its history becomes. For anyone interested in the future of crypto you need to know your history. Please read my thread that covers the good, bad, and ugly of the bitcoin scaling war.
2.) The Crypto Skeptic All-Star Team.
Complementing my prior review, this thread shows off the top crypto skeptics from around the world. Most financial media has either pro-crypto insiders promoting their own bags or anti-crypto outsiders that couldn’t tell an NFT from a PDF. These guys are the real deal. They know crypto inside and out, and are skeptics. Rather than get fed noise, find out the signal. Please read through all the comments, especially @Edmund_Schuster’s comment tagging everyone.
3.) My Interview with Keyword: Crypto Podcast
I had a blast talking with @michaelcrypto from Keyword: Crypto. We spanned about 2 and half hours. I discussed my insights of diving into the books this past year of grad school. I shared my learnings of economic history and how that intersected with modern-day lessons for crypto. It was a wide-ranging conversation and hopefully stimulates some thinky thoughts.
4.) Debunking the Conservative Case for Stiffing Student Debt Crisis.
In this thread, I respond to Inez Stepman’s article in The American Mind where she tarnishes the argument for student debt relief. She asserts that it would be regressively benefitting the rich. I break down the stats to show that her claim is a strawman. Most college-educated Americans are making household (not individual) income ranging from $74k-$100k. These people largely live in urban areas for their jobs and when relativized are actually median income earners. Their purchasing power is what matters. Rather than galavanting on yachts like Stepman would like us to believe, many college-educated Americans are struggling while being the professional backbone of society.
5.) Get in touch!
Now that I’ve finished grad school, I’ve got a lot more free time. If you would like to discuss how I could assist in your research of various topics on economics, history, and technology please reach out. I also provide marketing consulting too.