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Weekly
Founded in Blood: A Revealing Denarius from the Dictatorship of Sulla (81 BC)
I am very pleased to add to my collection this equally historical and handsome Roman Republican denarius serratus, minted by the moneyer Gaius Marius Capito in 81 BC. This moneyer, unrelated to the famous Gaius Marius, is known only from his coins struck during the dictatorship of Sulla - in the tense aftermath of his defeat of the Marians, second march on Rome and bloody proscriptions. The Damoclean sense of terror that prevailed in Rome after Sulla's total victory is chillingly described by Pl
Israeli data: How can efficacy vs. severe disease be strong when 60% of hospitalized are vaccinated?
A surge involving the rapidly-transmitting Delta variant in heavily vaccinated countries has led to much hand-wringing that the vaccines are not effective against Delta, or vaccine effectivenss wanes after 4-6 months. This has fueled anti-vaccine sentiment suggesting the vaccines are not working, and causing much stress in vaccinated people that they are not as protected as they thought they would be. In this post, I will focus on vaccine effectiveness vs. severe disease/hospitalization, which
Crypto Canon - Andreessen Horowitz
Here’s a list of crypto readings and resources. It’s organized from building blocks and basics; foundations (& history); and key concepts — followed by specific topics such as governance; privacy and security; scaling; consensus and governance; cryptoeconomics, cryptoassets, and investing; …
The Weaponization of Nostalgia: How Afghan Miniskirts Became the Latest Salvo in the War on Terror - Ajam Media Collective
Why is it that non-Afghans only care to learn about Afghanistan when there are pictures of women in miniskirts involved? By shifting the topic to women's clothing, broader questions around the problems facing Afghanistan become elided – and the discussion goes back to a simplistic dichotomy between Islam and secular modernity.View Post
The End of Venture Capital as We Know It
All signs seem to indicate that by 2022, for the first time, nontraditional tech investors—including hedge funds, mutual funds and the like—will invest more in private tech companies than traditional Silicon Valley–style venture capitalists will. Many people are quick to write this off as a ...