April 11, 2026 - Freedomain Radio - Stefan Molyneux
01:16:00
To Hell with Intentions! Livestream
Stefan Molyneux analyzes Iran's April 8th Bitcoin oil toll, a strategy to bypass the GENIUS Act sanctions and the petrodollar system, driving prices toward $73,000. He dismisses quantum threats while contrasting Bitcoin's decentralized nature with stablecoins, then pivots to therapy, arguing that judging actions rather than inaccessible intentions prevents "mind reading mysticism." Ultimately, the episode posits that focusing on moral boundaries and accountability over hidden motivations offers a more practical framework for navigating geopolitics and personal grief. [Automatically generated summary]
Transcriber: CohereLabs/cohere-transcribe-03-2026, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
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Bitcoin Pays Strait of Hormuz Toll00:14:47
All right, good evening, everybody.
It is Friday Night Live.
Stipan Molyneux from Free Domain and happy to take callers on the Rumble platform.
You can go to FreeDomain.com forward slash, sorry, FDRURL.com, FDRURL.com forward slash live call.
And we can take you if you have callers there.
And yeah, I had some, I did an interview today on Bitcoin.
Hopefully it'll be out this weekend.
And.
The Bitcoin, the Iranian situation, the Strait of Hormuz, all absolutely fascinating stuff.
I'm happy to take your questions on text.
I am happy to take your calls through the studio and we can get going and hit me up with cues.
There we go.
Yeah, hit me up with questions.
I'm happy to take them on as we are waiting for those to come in.
I can tell you a little bit about what's going on.
In the geopolitics, just hit me with a Y if you would like information on what's going on on the war or what's going on in the Strait of Hormuz, what is going on with Iran and Bitcoin and the US.
Yeah, my topic is, it's larger than just the war.
It is about Bitcoin as a whole and the petrodollar and so on.
Somebody says thoughts on Bitcoin encryption potentially being cracked with quantum computing soon.
No, that's not a thing.
Um, nobody's going to give up the trillion dollar plus asset because of some advances in quantum computing.
That's not going to happen.
So there are already, I mean, you just do a fork, um, to retain the value of your Bitcoin.
You would just do a fork and you would go to something with stronger encryption, but it looks like there are ways to obviate or bypass the encryption.
From quantum, the decryption capacities of quantum computers pretty, pretty quickly.
So it's not going to happen.
Somebody asks, why did you block me on X?
You know why.
You know why.
Good heavens, right?
All right.
So Bitcoin has demonstrated resilience since late March 2026 amid Middle East volatility, trading in the 60 to 70K range bumped up a bit today.
Last I saw, a little under 102 Canadian.
So if you haven't heard it, it's a pretty wild thing.
That it will require all laden oil tankers.
They let unladen oil tankers or ships pass through for free, but it's about a roughly $1 per barrel toll in Bitcoin.
They played around with some other cryptos and they settled on Bitcoin for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
And there's, of course, a two week U.S. brokered ceasefire, which Israel does not appear to be hugely following, shockingly.
But that's a lot.
That's a lot of money that is going to be coming through the.
A dollar per barrel toll in Bitcoin.
They were originally pegging it to a USD stablecoin, but then the US passed some legislation to say that they would be able to freeze payments to hostile foreign governments and so on.
And so they have decided to do it through Bitcoin, which is pretty wild.
So this directly links Bitcoin to global energy infrastructure and sanctions evasion.
Yes, it's sanctions evasion or whatever, right?
Markets reacted with more than $400 million in short liquidations, forced closures of bets that Bitcoin's price would fall, and a 4% to 6% price surge.
So, why did that happen?
Well, because when there's a war, people sometimes flee to gold, but what they do in particular is they flee to, of course, defense stocks, right?
They flee to defense stocks.
That's kind of how they roll.
And so, Bitcoin fell because people were fleeing to defense stocks, but now that Iran is requiring This toll to pass through the state of Hormuz to be paid in Bitcoin, things are quite a bit different, right?
So it's really fascinating because this is kind of an assault on the petrodollar as a whole.
As you know, international settlements have to be done in US dollars for the oil and other energy stuff.
And so switching that to Bitcoin is really quite fascinating because, of course, if the petrodollar loses its hold on international oil trading, then the value of the US dollar goes down.
And when the value of the US dollar goes down, it means the price of everything goes up.
And so it is an attack, particularly groceries, because as I was saying today, if there's one thing that Americans like to do, it is eat.
They like to eat.
And so if you hit Americans in the grocery aisle, you hit them really hard, really hard.
So people were expecting the defense stocks to go up.
They took money out of Bitcoin, Bitcoin fell, and now Iran is requiring Bitcoin.
For this, Strait of Hormuz is a big deal.
There's two things.
One is generally known about, one is not generally known about.
The first that is known about in particular is that, you know, 20% of the world's oil and natural gas goes through the Strait of Hormuz, so it's a big deal that way.
But also, up to a third of fertilizer, particularly nitrogen based fertilizers, goes through the Strait of Hormuz.
If they can't get through with a planting season coming up, there's going to be food shortages if they can't get a hold of the right amount of.
Uh, this, this stuff, right?
So it's not ideal as far as that goes.
So, uh, Bitcoin versus stablecoins, USDT on the April 8th Financial Times interview with Iran, Iran's oil, gas and petrochemical products exporters union spokesperson, Hermid Hosseini explicitly states that vessels must pay in Bitcoin within seconds.
While Iran had shortlisted stablecoins such as USDT, Tether and USDC or circle in earlier tall discussions, the formal homeless policy specifies Bitcoin.
This choice is deliberate.
The GENIUS Act, guiding and establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act, signed into law in July 2025, is the first major U.S. federal legislation regulating payment stablecoins.
It requires permitted issuers to maintain one-to-one reserves, cash or cash-like assets, and crucially to comply with sanctions by freezing transactions involving sanctioned entities when ordered by regulators like the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
Bitcoin has no central issuer that can be compelled to act, making it uniquely resistant to such controls.
Crypto law expert Professor Tonya M. Evans highlighted the striking timing in her April 9th thread and new Forbes analysis, and I quote, Treasury published its Genius Act stablecoin sanctions rules on April 8th.
Same day, Iran demanded Bitcoin from oil tankers at the Strait of Hormuz.
Bitcoin has no issue to compel.
Iran chose that rail deliberately.
She frames the move not as Bitcoin enabling crime, but exposing the limits of compliance framework that depends on centralized issuers in a world where not all payment rails have one.
So, ongoing Iran-related geopolitical tensions kept Bitcoin volatile yet relatively supported, at least in Canadian dollars.
I don't think it's dipped below the low 90s, which is pretty wild.
And I said this, of course, a year or two ago, that once the general financial institutions get involved, the ETFs get involved, it won't go up like crazy.
It also will have a floor with which it's going to buy up.
When you've convinced your clients to buy a bunch of Bitcoin, you're going to have a floor so that you don't.
End up getting in trouble with your clients if it goes down too much.
So, Bitcoin continued to behave as a high beta risk asset.
So, what does that mean?
It tends to amplify broader market moves, rising or falling more sharply than traditional stocks or bonds in response to news, while still defending key support levels better than many observers anticipated.
So in early April, there was caution, Bitcoin trading.
This is US 66 to 68K range as of April 3rd.
Steady institutional interest continued through Bitcoin ETFs, exchange traded funds.
Those are regulated investment products listed on stock exchanges that hold actual Bitcoin, but it allows investors to gain exposure without directly buying and storing the cryptocurrency themselves.
And moves by major banks such as Morgan Stanley, who reported that their spot Bitcoin ETF launch had their quote, best first day of trading for any of our ETFs.
US pro crypto.
Policy discussions under the current administration added mild underlying support.
April 8th, Catalyst, the ceasefire announcement combined with details of the Iran toll reverse sentiment.
Bitcoin climbed from around 68 to 72.5, 73K intraday while oil prices eased slightly, generally positive for risk assets.
So, to get into a little bit more detail about the Strait of Hormuz, narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that carries 20 to 21% of the world's daily oil supply, about 20 million barrels.
Now, 20 million barrels, what does that mean?
Well, it means that $20 million worth of Bitcoin are required for ships to pass through.
And not only do they get to pass through, they also get a naval escort as well, a lot of them.
So, $20 million worth of Bitcoin is, well, that's a lot.
That's about half of the, what is it, $450 that is produced every day by miners, $450 Bitcoins.
So, substantial liquefied natural gas volumes.
The Strait of Ramuz functions as one of the plan's most vital energy choke points.
And disruptions there can quickly affect global energy prices.
So, the policy that was announced April 8th via the Financial Times from Iran as part of the two week ceasefire fully loaded or laden tankers must pay about a dollar per barrel of oil.
This is one to three million per VLCC, very large crude carrier, also known as a frat boy, the largest class of supertanker capable of hauling two million barrels or more.
Empty vessels pass free of charge.
At full historical traffic levels, this could generate around $20 million per day in revenue for Iran.
equivalent to hundreds of Bitcoin at current prices depending on exact volume and Bitcoin exchange rates.
The payment mechanics, per Iran's oil dude that we talked about before, Hamid Hussain, tank operators email cargo and route details to Iranian authorities for assessment.
Iran calculates and issues the exact toll amount.
Operators have only a few seconds to transfer the precise payment in Bitcoin to an Iran controlled digital wallet.
Once the blockchain confirms receipt, the vessel receives approval and a naval escort.
Now, this is interesting as well.
So if you remember back in the day, I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, but I'm not going to hide when I'm right.
I talked about the first use case for Bitcoin was going to be a business to business.
And in this case, it's business to government, but it's large transactions.
It's not going out to buy a coffee.
It's the B2B or B2G business to government, business to business or business to government economy that is going to be best served by Bitcoin because it doesn't need to be settled in 30 seconds or whatever it is, right?
So there's an explicit rationale coming out of the Iranian government.
The Bitcoin requirement ensures funds, quote, can't be traced or confiscated due to sanctions.
It bypasses.
Traditional international banking rails such as the SWIFT, Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, the dominant secure messaging network used by banks globally for cross-border payments, and the Petrodollar system, it's a long-standing post-World War II arrangement in which most global oil trade is priced and settled in US dollars, giving the dollar outsized influence.
The current ceasefire toll policy is only for Bitcoin per the primary source and follow-on reporting.
Any reference to stable coins reflect prior experimental tolls or conflated summaries.
So, this formalized April 8th mechanism is purely Bitcoin.
That's what I reported several days ago on X.
Now, Iran had already begun testing WAN and cryptocurrency payments for select tolls earlier in April.
The April 8th announcement formalized the Bitcoin option during the ceasefire to help retain control of the strait while generating hard to seize revenue.
So, what else goes through the Strait of Hormuz beyond crude oil?
The strait is a critical route for several non oil commodities that could also face toll requirements or disruptions.
LNG, liquid natural gas.
Qatar and the UAE together account for roughly 20% of global natural gas exports.
Nearly all of their shipments transit through the strait.
Fertilizer, as I mentioned, urea and ammonia.
Yes, significant volumes.
The Gulf region supplies nearly one-third of global seaborne fertilizer trade.
Disruptions could raise global food prices as nitrogen-based fertilizers are essential for agriculture.
What else goes through?
Sulfur, helium.
Qatar produces about 30%.
Of world capacity as a natural gas byproduct used in semiconductors and medical applications.
Aluminium, aluminum, methanol, monoethylene glycol, MEG for textiles and plastics, LPG, refined petroleum products, and various petrochemical feedstocks.
So, well, as of April 10th, that is today, 2026, Bitcoin price has gone up 4% to 6% on the combined news, intraday peak near 73K before pulling back to 71 to 71.4.
Pulling back to on April 8th, 9th.
Bitcoin prices are hovering in the 72 to 72.9 range as of this morning, April 10th.
Short liquidations over 400 million in 24 hours as traders who had bet against Bitcoin were forced to cover positions.
And Lord knows, I am far from a vengeful person.
I am a monk of pure zenness.
But when people bet on Bitcoin going down, I like it when they're forced to eat their own shorts.
It's just really, really nice as a whole.
So, the optimistic view shared by many Bitcoin analysts, on chain researchers, and long term holders positions the Strait of Homer's development as more than a headline.
Nations Embrace Strategic Bitcoin Assets00:15:44
It represents tangible proof of Bitcoin functioning as a neutral, borderless infrastructure in high stakes global trade.
So, even if only a fraction of historical tanker traffic resumes, the policy could require 10 to 20 million per day in Bitcoin purchases.
Shipers saw their counterparties must acquire and send Bitcoin on demand, generating steady non-speculative buying pressure.
This demand is fundamentally different from retail speculation or ETF inflows because it stems directly from real economic activity in the energy sector and, of course, potentially in the fertilizer, liquid natural gas sector as well.
So this is a real world.
It's not speculative.
It's not, is it going to go up because other people like it or want to invest in it?
It's going up because it is showing really practical real world economic value.
Energy sector analyst and Bitcoin quant, David ENG, MBA, quantified the impact sharply.
Quote, at a dollar per barrel toll on pre-war Hornwoods flows would generate about 20 million per day.
At current prices, that's about 281 bitcoins.
Bitcoin only issues 450 new bitcoin per day.
So one geopolitical choke point could theoretically absorb about 62% of all new bitcoin supply.
He extended the logic, and I quote, if Iran were paid for 50% of its oil sales in Bitcoin, it would create about 830 Bitcoin of daily settlement demand at current export volumes and pricing.
That is 1.8 Bitcoin's new daily issuance.
That is a real game changer.
He added that even if Iran sells the received Bitcoin later, quote, the transactions in Bitcoin are foundational to adoption network slash network, and noted personally converting oil profits to Bitcoin as highly accretive, predicting large oil producers will follow suit.
Some earlier analysts estimate estimated absorption near 60% of daily issuance.
That's a Bitcoin.
This refined modeling underscores a potential structural supply shock.
So it's one, you won't say it's not a tiny thing, it's one important thing.
And you have governments, of course, getting involved in Bitcoin.
We have El Salvador accepted it as legal currency and gave a bunch to its people.
And now Iran is using it to bypass restrictions on their ability to trade.
And you know what happens is, you know, if you've ever done that, Fairly horrifying thing where you have to send some Satoshis or you're going to receive some Satoshis.
It's kind of nerve wracking because you're not kind of sure it's really going to work and so on.
But once you've done it, you're like, okay, this works and you get used to it.
So the fact that you've got big producers and governments getting used to buying, selling, transferring, sending and receiving Bitcoin, it's just easier to do it the next time.
The first one is a bit of a doozy, but after that, it gets kind of easier.
So by routing revenue through Bitcoin's decentralized blockchain, Iran sidesteps the ability of any single government, of course this is primarily the US, to freeze or block funds via traditional banking rails.
Bitcoin's pseudonymous, fast settlement nature, transactions are recorded publicly on an immutable ledger but not easily linked to real-world identities without advanced forensic tools, makes it uniquely suited for this purpose.
This directly challenges the petrodollar system and accelerates de-dollarization trends, which is countries actively reducing reliance on the US dollar for international trade.
And, you know, people are kind of nervous about the US dollar.
As you know, more than 40% of all the US dollars ever created were created COVID and post-COVID, which is, it feels like a lifetime ago, but it really isn't that long, like six years.
So people are concerned about inflation.
And once people start shifting to a new system, you know, I remember trying to teach a manager about the value of email back in the day and he resisted and resisted him.
And he finally got it and it was fast and, you know, easy and all of that.
He was like, I should have done this years ago.
And I'm just, I'm certainly concerned.
Like, what does my concern mean in this kind of context?
But I'm interested in what happens when people switch to a new system and say, this is way easier.
This is way faster.
I don't have governments following my every move in the same way.
So Professor Tonya Evans underscores the timing and intent.
On the exact same day, the U.S. Treasury published proposed rules implementing the Genius Act's sanction requirements, which compel stablecoin issuers like Tether and Circle to freeze sanctioned transactions.
The same day, Iran formalized Bitcoin tolls.
Iran had a shortlisted USDT and USDC previously, but deliberately chose Bitcoin because, quote, Bitcoin has no issuer to compel.
Evans Forbes analysis frames this as, quote, the Genius Act's first stablecoin test, illustrating the limits of compliance frameworks that rely on centralized issuers.
Proponents argue it transforms Bitcoin from a speculative store of value into a practical defensive weapon or shield when the dollar is weaponized through sanctions.
Eggplant Elon, the name's the name, it's a smart guy, but added a sharp long term lens in response to macro analyst Luke Grohman, quote, central.
banks buying gold is them doing the only thing they can do.
They can't buy Bitcoin at scale yet without admitting the game is up.
Gold is the acceptable exit.
It's the methadone.
Bitcoin is what you'd choose if you weren't a state actor constrained by institutional inertia and the need to maintain the illusion that the existing system is still functioning.
Methadone is what you use to get off heroin.
Is that right?
I think it's that.
Proponents argue that the Iran move accelerates the moment when Bitcoin becomes the preferred neutral reserve asset.
If Bitcoin were to become a global currency replacing the hegemony of the US Dollar as a reserve currency, its value would, I mean, it's impossible to comprehend.
I, of course, for well over 10 years have had in my mind, it's just a particular opinion, don't buy or sell based on anything that I say.
This is not investment advice.
I just in my own heart have had 750k US per Bitcoin as a reasonable target in the medium future.
So the precedent of Iran could encourage other sanctioned or geopolitically exposed nations to adopt similar models, compounding long term.
Demand and normalizing Bitcoin in high level international commerce.
Now, here's what's really ironic.
Again, for many, many years, I've been talking about how America could pay off its national debt and even its unfunded liabilities if the value of Bitcoin goes through the roof.
And the US is well north of 300,000 Bitcoins that it seized in various police actions.
And so the war in Iran, if it drives up the value of Bitcoin, that certainly does harm America in the short run, but it also adds to the value of the assets the American government is holding onto.
In terms of its hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin.
So that is interesting.
So there are issues, of course, with Iran doing this with regards to Bitcoin.
So most international shipping companies, insurers and banks have Western or Gulf ties and are subject to strict US and EU sanctions regimes.
Paying Iran even via cryptocurrency could constitute a sanctions violation carrying fines in the tens of millions of dollars, potential blacklisting or even criminal liability.
Many operators therefore likely to reroute Around the straight, delay voyages to simply avoid the route until the ceasefire proves durable and the risks are clearer.
Early tanker traffic data as of yesterday, April 9th, already shows only limited resumption, underscoring this reluctance.
There's operational and enforcement challenges.
The few seconds to pay requirement sounds coercive but assumes flawless real time execution under pressure.
Bitcoin's price volatility, even over minutes, can complicate sending the exact dollar equivalent amount, although stablecoins help mitigate this.
Iran's claim of untraceability is also partially overstated while Bitcoin avoids traditional bank freezes.
The blockchain is fully public, allowing sophisticated forensic firms to trace flows if desired.
Now, I don't know if layered VPNs can fix that.
I don't know.
So, physical risks remain as well.
Directing traffic closer to Iranian waters for escort increases exposure to accidents or escalation.
Now, of course, 20 million per day in potential revenue while meaningful for Iran represents only.
A small fraction of Bitcoin's $1.3 trillion plus market capitalization and its multi-billion dollar daily trading volume.
Analysts describe the initial price pop as largely liquidity driven, short covering and sentiment, rather than a fundamental lasting demand shock.
Bitcoin continues to trade primarily as a high beta risk asset, so any renewed geopolitical flare-up or ceasefire breakdown could quickly erase gains.
The two-week ceasefire, of course, remains tentative.
Iran has issued its own list of demands.
And enforcement could falter.
Longer term, the move might prompt tidy US scrutiny of cryptocurrency rails used for sanctions evasion, potentially slowing broader adoption or triggering new regulations.
Some experts warn that framing this as an unqualified win for Bitcoin is dangerously naive and could invite stronger enforcement actions against crypto platforms that inadvertently facilitate such payments.
Yes, that is a big deal, right?
I mean, the American government, entirely rightly so, given its military perspective, does not like anything that fuels money towards It's enemy, right?
Or fuels resources.
Now, Iran's engagement with Bitcoin is really interesting.
Iran, you know, we think of it as a sort of fairly primitive, theocratic Islamic regime, and there's certainly that aspect to it.
But again, as I've pointed out on X, the IQ of Iranians who are Persian Caucasians is north of 100.
In some studies, there's a mix.
But Iran's engagement with Bitcoin dates back over a decade.
But accelerated sharply under US sanctions.
This is what people say.
They say, oh, I was debanked, I was sanctioned, I was this, but I had some crypto and that drove up the value of crypto.
Because the more that you sanction people using tradfi or traditional finance methods, the greater the value of Bitcoin and particular decentralized cryptocurrencies becomes.
So being attacked economically through the regular finance system ends up driving up the value of Bitcoin as a way of avoiding that.
And so you take away with one hand and you give with 12 other tentacles.
It's an odd analogy, but I think I'll stick with it.
I like tentacles.
So early roots, this is pre-2018 in Iran.
Informal crypto use emerged as a workaround for restricted banking access.
2018 to 2020, after the US withdrew from the JCPOA nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions, Iran ramped up crypto experimentation.
The Central Bank of Iran began exploring a national digital currency in 2020.
By 2020 onward, Iran officially legalized and licensed Bitcoin mining, requiring miners to sell output to the central bank for imports.
It became a major global mining hub.
Peaking at about 4.5% of worldwide hash rate, generating hundreds of millions of dollars annually in revenues while consuming cheap or subsidized electricity.
2023 to 2025, crypto outflows surged to record levels, 7.8 billion in 2025 per chain analysis estimates.
While the IRGC, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, they moved about $3 billion.
Heavy use of stable coins, especially USDT, alongside Bitcoin for sanctions, evasion, oil sales, and proxy funding.
The central bank acquired at least 507 million in USDT in 2025 alone.
Isn't that wild?
In the 2026 context, the Hormuz Toll represents the latest evolution, formalizing Bitcoin for strategic revenues during active geopolitical maneuvering.
Iran's history shows pragmatic flexibility, stable coins for speed, volume, in some cases, Bitcoin for maximum resistance in high-profile scenarios.
So, Bitcoin is increasingly treated as a strategic asset.
23 to 27 countries holding or gaining exposure as of early 2026.
El Salvador, as we mentioned, first and only nation to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender 2021.
Holds about 7,500 Bitcoin or more in treasury, actively mines using volcanic geothermal energy, which coincidentally also powers my brain.
So El Salvador keeps winning.
Game theory.
474 Bitcoin mined via volcanic power.
Bhutan, state-linked Bitcoin mining using abundant hydropower accumulating reserves as a national strategy.
The United States Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, via executive order, holds about 328,000 Bitcoin, primarily from law enforcement seizures.
Several states, such as Texas, New Hampshire, Arizona, and others, are pursuing or passing legislation for state level Bitcoin reservesslash ETFs.
Of course, some states, the blue states in particular, are concerned about the more efficient tax livestock fleeing for lower tax environments, so they are looking to. try and impose exit taxes for the state.
That is going to drive, I assume, interest in getting resources into crypto.
The United Arab Emirate, crypto hub with sovereign wealth exposure and mining, positions itself as a global leader.
Others, the UK has seizure holdings, Germany, past sales but ongoing policy debates, plus growing activity in Argentina as an inflation hedge, Nigeria, Vietnam, and about 20 more nations via mining, reserves, or legislation.
Reports note a game-theoretic race with 13 additional countries advancing proposals.
And for those who've been around Bitcoin for a while, it's wild.
I mean, I first started talking about it 2010, 2011, or whatever it is.
The idea that you've got dozens of nations pursuing Bitcoin strategies and holding onto Bitcoins is just wild.
So net analyst consensus and outlook.
Short term volatility driven by sentiment and ceasefire updates, technical support levels noted around 68k to 70k US, additional macro support, continued ETF inflows, policy clarity would be needed to sustain upward momentum.
Longer term, if the toll mechanism holds and traffic materializes, this serves as a live proof of concept for Bitcoin in strategic global trade, strengthening the utility over speculation narrative, right?
Can you use it for actual real world things rather than just Do you hold it because it's going to go up in value because other people think it's valuable?
Actual daily tanker volumes through the strait will be something to monitor, official US or EU responses, durability of the ceasefire, and real world enforcement success.
Of course, governments don't want the Iranian government getting a hold of Bitcoin, so they will escalate and threaten.
Because that's what governments do.
Beyond the Homo's specific development, Bitcoin continues to showcase its broader utility as a superior store of value and its technical adaptability.
That's almost like how it should be pronounced, isn't it?
Adaptability in the face of emerging threats.
Quantum Threats Loom Over Crypto00:03:26
Bitcoin Archive posted on April 10th, and I quote, If you saved $10,000 in 2021, it would buy about $8,000 worth of goods today.
Five years.
20%.
If you put $10,000 into Bitcoin in 2021, it would be worth about $24,000 today.
Bitcoin protects and grows your wealth, right?
So $2,000 down versus $14,000 up, right?
That's a $16,000 differential.
That's huge.
So, by the way, if you've found some value in me talking about Bitcoin over the years, freedomain.com slash donate would be gratefully appreciated.
Rapid technical resilience.
This is to the earlier questions, and I'll get to your question in a sec.
In response to recent quantum computing concerns, following Google's demonstration of cracking encryption in minutes, Bitcoin developers delivered two working defenses in just 48 hours.
Bull Theory I.O. summarized on April 10th.
Lightning Lab CTO Oloalo Oloalo released a prototype enabling wallet owners to prove ownership even after an emergency security shutdown, while StarkWars CPO Avihu Levy published a scheme for quantum safe transactions.
Swapping vulnerable math without protocol changes at a cost of $75 to $150 per transaction for large holders.
These emergency measures highlight Bitcoin's developer ecosystem's speed and ingenuity.
BIP360, the permanent fix, remains years away, yet the network adapts proactively.
I mean, people aren't going to let a trillion dollar asset just vaporize because computers got faster.
So that's what I wanted to get across.
It is absolutely fascinating to see.
What is going on these days?
All right.
So let's get to your questions and comments and issues and so on.
Let's get back to your questions.
And of course, if you want to call in, fdrul.com forward slash livecom.
All right.
Oh, a lot of questions, a lot of comments.
Bitcoin will hit a million this year with all these developments.
I'm not sure about that.
I mean, who knows, right?
Who knows?
All right.
Well, it looks like we have a good topic.
Somebody says, oh, James says, for what it's worth, this is a fairly lengthy article in the quantum computing FUD headline Bitcoin is fine, but we should not be complacent.
Yeah, it's years and years and years away, any of this sort of speed.
My understanding is that if SHA 256 encryption is broken, then all computers, servers, Systems are compromised worldwide, banking intelligence, etc.
Yes.
Yes.
Agreed.
If quantum computing can break the encryption, there will be much more problems than just Bitcoin investing.
No, but it's like the Y2K thing.
It's going to be apparent and people will just adapt to it, right?
I mean, Y2K turned out to be a nothing burger, although I remember working quite hard on the Y2K stuff in my business because people see it coming.
Avoid Telling People What to Buy00:08:15
It's a slow-moving disaster and that's the easiest thing to deal with.
All right.
Dear Steph, I called in the other day and a huge development has happened.
I need to speak with you ASAP.
How may I do that?
Oh, sure.
I'd be happy to chat.
It's freedomain.com forward slash call, C A L L, not C A U L or C A W L, C A L L.
So freedomain.com slash call.
You can do all of that.
Steph, your breakdown about aliens was great.
Not the movie, but the opportunity for aliens.
I mean, they're out there, but to visit us is not going to happen.
It was really hard for me to accept the reality that human beings do not belong in space and faster than light travel would never be allowed by God.
Well, it's not one of God, but.
I endorse you for the top post in Canada.
You are way smarter than Trudeau's staff.
Taller than Mickey Rooney is not much of a compliment to my height, but I certainly appreciate the kind thoughts.
And you've got to see the guy who sued the Toronto Star for information about what was going on with Justin Trudeau in the past.
It was just wild.
All right.
Can Europe survive as we know it, or will it completely fall to Islam?
And if so, a civil war unavoidable?
Well, as you know, the communists want to get rid of white Christian males, and they're doing a pretty good job.
Although I've been so pro natalist for 21 years, I would assume that we've, I mean, we as a community, I as a person have done as much as I possibly can to try and help smart people have more kids, and I get emails all the time with.
Pictures of people and their kids because of the show.
So, thank you for your support as well.
We've done a lot.
White birth rates in the US are up considerably.
Obviously, that's not just me, but whatever.
All right.
Somebody, oh, John.
Oh, John!
John Balfour, you're back.
My professor stalker is back.
And he says, Molyneux isn't a thinker.
So, if your question didn't fall in line with his preconceived answers, it would really bother him.
I shouldn't laugh because this guy is a professor who teaches poor, deluded students, or he's leading them astray.
Yeah, that's really sad.
I mean, this just, it's not an argument, right?
It's not a thinker, man.
Excellent.
All right.
Let's see here.
Oh, don't get mad at him.
He's just another sophist.
It's the old enemy of reason.
It's just a bunch of people who sneer and snarl and smirk and snark and.
All right.
What else have we got here?
This is really great.
Thank you, Steph.
I appreciate that.
Thanks to John.
Sorry, thanks to James for the research on this as well, or at least most of it.
John says, if you take this guy seriously on anything, I don't know what to tell you.
Like I said, I tune in sometimes just for entertainment.
Delightful.
Is Bitcoin convertible to cash or metal?
Sure, you can sell Bitcoin anytime you want.
I mean, you could.
I don't know why you would, but you could.
All right.
It's engaging with Bitcoin in order to decouple from the dollar, not exactly high level analysis.
It's engaging with Bitcoin in order to decouple from the dollar.
Oh, I think you mean Iran is engaging, not exactly high level analysis.
Really?
So tell me other places where people were talking about the value of Bitcoin 15 years ago, and tell me about all the other places that have said that one of the inadvertent effects. Of the invasion of Iran will be the potential erasure of the American debt.
Yeah.
I'm not everything, but I'm smart.
All right.
It's probably wiser to sell Bitcoin for US dollar than purchase something like gold or silver.
Don't give people investment advice, man.
I never do.
I never have.
I never will.
Don't give people investment advice.
Because what it does is it It ties you into their success or failure.
And I try not to do things that are going to sit in my conscience like a sideways fishbone in the gullet, right?
Try not to tell people what to do with their money.
It's really, really important.
All right.
Oh, can you elaborate further of the erasure of the American debt?
I may have missed it if you mentioned it.
So if you did, I'll rewatch.
No, that's fine.
So America is accumulating hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin.
And if the value of Bitcoin goes up enormously and the US dollar goes down, right, in value, then you can sell Bitcoin for US dollar and use that to pay off the dollar denominated debt, if that makes sense.
Hopefully that helps.
Hopefully that helps.
All right.
Any other cues?
I tell everyone to buy Bitcoin.
I should stop.
Yeah.
I mean, don't tell people what to do as a whole, as a whole, because, you know, the purpose is not to move people's hands if you're teaching them guitar or piano.
The purpose is for them to learn it themselves, right?
So if, you know, you could do whatever you want, it's free speech.
You can tell people to do whatever you want.
I would just be careful because if you tell people to do stuff and then it goes really badly for them, You're kind of tied into the negative outcome.
And I try to avoid that as a whole.
But Trump is trying to get a massive increase in the military budget.
Well, sure, because boomers are always fighting a war from three generations ago, right?
I mean, it's kind of War 101, sorry to be annoying, but it's kind of War 101 that America has these big, giant metal military machines, right?
It's got the giant bombers, it's got the fighter jets, it's got the aircraft carriers, it's got the submarines, and you can't win in any kind of conventional combat against that kind of hardware and expertise and skill and will and so on.
So what that means is that if you have a giant hardware military army and Navy and Air Force, then nobody's going to fight you on those terms.
They're going to find some way to bypass all of that and fight you in some other terms, such as this one, which is an attack upon the US dollar, the value of the US dollar, rather than taking on the US military hardware, which you can't do and win.
So, all right.
Uh, do you think in the age of AI and computer advancements that high quality handmade goods will remain in demand?
I don't think so.
No, I don't think so.
I mean, there'll be some people who like it.
Like there's some people who really like having, um, turntables and put the needle on the record, put the needle on the record, right?
So they like having that kind of stuff.
I mean, I'm not much of an audiophile with only one and a half ears, but I would say that It will be a niche market for high quality goods.
High Fees Kill NFT Book Sales00:03:33
Do you see a good future for Ethereal and SOL as well?
Or is this good future outlook limited to Bitcoin only?
I can tell you this.
So, FreedomAnNFT.com, I put out some NFTs and I tried to sell copies of my book Revolutions for like 20 bucks or 18 bucks or whatever it was.
And unfortunately, the fees to sell it were higher than the price of the book itself.
I don't know if that's changes, but fees in Ethereum, at least I'm not an expert on it.
It's a few times that I've dipped into it.
Then fees are brutal and unsustainable for, I guess, any but the largest of economic transactions.
I don't know why the fees are so high in Ethereum.
I don't know if that's been dealt with or acted upon or something like that.
But.
If Ethereum can't solve the fee issue, then relative to Bitcoin, it's going to fail and falter, I would assume, over time.
Ethereum fees are like shipping to Canada from the US.
Yeah, kind of like, kind of true, kind of true.
Yeah, with investment advice, I think the good thing to do is to just give people the lay of the land, right?
And get them used to how to look things up, get them used to how to process various information, and also get them used to the fact that nobody alive can predict the future price of anything.
Nobody alive.
Nobody alive.
And I don't know much about Solana.
I really don't know much about, I mean, I know about Bitcoin.
I haven't really studied much the other.
Cryptos.
I have a friend who used to work in.
Oh, I used to know this.
It'll come to me.
But yeah, I mean, was it Dogecoins and Solana and there's Monero?
You know, everyone's like, hey, man, you should talk more about Monero.
I put out a Monero donation thing.
Nobody donates.
So what do I care?
I mean, but yeah, so.
Yeah, lose per item, make up for in volume.
Yeah, that's right.
That's right.
It's Tether, Tether.
Tezos, thank you.
Yeah, Tezos as well, which is, you know.
But I remember many years ago speaking at a Bitcoin conference, and you could create your own coins, right?
And so it's like, I could create Stephcoin or Baldomatic 9000 or something like that.
So kind of funny.
I don't even know what I would do with it in particular.
And I certainly don't want to go the Hawk Tour route, which seems, you know, kind of scammy to me in my personal opinion.
But yeah, I just don't have any particular desire for that.
I tell you, man, this week has just been crazy for call-in shows.
I think I've done 12 call-in shows this week, and a lot of them are public and a lot of them are really good.
We've got one coming up, I Was a Teenage Prostitute.
We've got Sex Stress in a Catholic Marriage, and some really, really interesting and different kind of call-in shows.
So I hope you'll, of course, subscribe at freedomain.com on the podcast page for all of that.
All right, let me see here.
Writing a Fun Romance Novel Plot00:04:19
Any other questions, comments, issues, challenges, problems?
Anything that I can do to tickle your brain and flat your fancy?
Yeah, beware of the pump and dump.
Yeah, I think that's just really gross stuff.
I think that's really gross stuff.
I couldn't.
Honestly, I would feel so wretched if I pumped some coin and then it was rug pulled and it turned out that I'd been kind of like, I wouldn't do it myself, but let's say it got rug pulled and it turned out that I was kind of.
You know, the front man or the hand puppet for some pretty shady characters, the pump and dump, I would just feel terrible.
I would like literally in my brain, it would just be this endless scroll of people who'd lost a bunch of money because of something I was fronting.
That would be terrible.
All right.
Somebody says, Do you have another book coming or some ideas, perhaps?
I do, in fact, have another book coming.
I am working on a very fun and interesting plot.
I want to start out as a traditional romance novel, maybe not involving.
Giant bulls or werewolves or something like that.
But I want to start as a traditional romance novel and then change to a spy thriller.
And I like genre twists.
I really do.
And so I have a really great idea for all of that.
And I'm working on the plot with the family, which is a lot of fun.
We love spitballing ideas about how things could go, but I love studly steel jaw, you know, typical romance stuff.
And then it turns into an exciting anti communist spy plot.
And it's really got a bunch of great twists that I'm really, really pleased about.
And I've never written an action thriller or a romance novel in particular before.
The present was kind of in the romance novel genre, but it was defied so many expectations.
I don't have a name as yet.
Given my recent naming, my book that has plot twists in it will simply be named Plot Twists.
Yeah, I'm really.
I got particular praise for the war scenes in my novel.
Almost, which if you haven't listened to, you absolutely should.
And action rooted in research is something that I find like when I'm writing that kind of stuff, my heart is pounding.
I'm right there.
I see it.
I feel it.
And so I like writing as a cardio workout.
So yeah, I think, and starting out as a traditional romance novel is interesting because it would draw the ladies in and then.
It goes to a thriller, so the men will grit their teeth at the beginning and enjoy the end.
Romance and Spying by Van Molyneux.
Yes, yes.
I'm pleased with the novel Just Poor.
I thought that was a good title, but I wouldn't say that titling is my strong suit.
The original title for that book was The Fight of the Flown, because I was reading stuff like The Mill and the Floss, and The Fight of the Flown was the original.
And, uh, so yes, uh, I'm not ideal at naming books, but again, I don't have a formal publisher.
So I come up with it myself and you can't be good at everything.
I mean, just look at my thumbnails.
Yeah.
I think, I think it would be fun to write and it would be a nice break from some of the more serious and dire stuff that I have to work with on a daily basis, in particular the call in shows where people are unjustly and rightly so talking about their difficult childhoods and so on.
It would be a lot of fun to do something that really is genre busting and.
I've been reading a couple of romance novels in preparation.
They are very interesting.
So, what could you read to a kid?
Probably I would start with Almost is an exciting war story.
So, that could be for kids.
And the present, not The God of Atheists, which is very raunchy.
But the present is another one that is.
Better in bed than ready.
Perfect.
Perfect.
So.
All right.
Let's see.
Any other questions, comments?
So we can have a shorter show tonight.
Therapy Sessions and Childhood Trauma00:10:39
I'm sorry we couldn't get.
Maybe I'll do one this weekend, more of a call-in show.
What aspect of talk therapy do you value?
My therapist is very good on being empathetic, almost to a fault, but I don't think I'm progressing as he does not provide much insight.
Well, I will tell you what I found the most valuable about my talk therapy, because Lord knows I haven't talked enough about me tonight.
But for me, the most valuable aspect of talk therapy was the moral boundaries, the fiery moat of good and evil that is the only thing that can protect you in a fairly fallen world.
So, you know, the thou, you shall not pass, none shall pass.
Having a fiery moat of unacceptable behavior is really essential.
I got that out of therapy, which was.
This person is dysfunctional.
This person is not well.
This person is manipulative.
This person is subversive.
This person is sabotage.
This person is self-destructive, and so on, right?
I mean, I remember when I was in therapy, I was chatting with a girl in my yoga class.
And I was going to meet some friends to see a late night movie.
And I invited her to come along.
And she was very enthusiastic.
And I said, listen, I don't mean to rush you, but if you could get changed quickly, the movie starts relatively soon.
And it's a bit of a drive.
And so if you wouldn't mind.
And I sat at the, I was really, I didn't want to leave because it seemed kind of rude.
I stood at the, Gym entrance.
I think it was almost 40 minutes.
And I don't know what was going on in there, right?
And we went to see the movie and it was nice and we chatted some more.
And then I dropped her at home and I was like, eh, you know, like, and I've talked about it with my therapist.
And my therapist was saying something like, and I was like, well, why would, what was going on in her mind?
Why would she not notice or why would she not think?
And maybe it's possible that you just kind of somehow lose track of time and you've been told to hurry and you've agreed to hurry about.
Way because if she said, I'm going to take 40 minutes, I'd say, Well, maybe we can do it another time because I don't want to miss the first 20 minutes of the movie.
But she said, No, I'll be out.
And so, do you just lose track?
Like, maybe you just lose track.
I mean, maybe if somehow you just lose track of time, you come out and you say, Oh, I'm so sorry.
That was so rude.
I said I would be in a hurry.
I can, I just kind of spaced out, lost track of time, whatever.
I mean, that's not ideal, but at least it's acknowledging that there's sort of an issue and a problem.
But she came out and she was like, I'm ready.
And it's just like, What do you even say?
Like, what do you even say?
And I remember my therapist saying, What does it matter?
Why she did what she did.
That she did what she did is all that matters.
Why does it matter?
Why she did what she did?
And that was quite, because, you know, and this is why when I say to people, intentions don't matter, that was sort of the lesson that I got.
Because it's easy to theorize and lose yourself into other people's intentions and motivations.
It really is just a form of mysticism.
Because if they're rational, clear, and direct and honest, they will tell you their motivations and you'll know.
If, on the other hand, They are false and manipulative and this, that, or the other, then you will never know their motivations because they'll never tell you the truth.
So either you know people's motivations, in which case you don't need to theorize, or they're manipulative and a sort of hall of foggy mirrors, in which case they'll never tell you their true motivations.
And that's why motivations are mysticism.
You either get them delivered to you with a bow or they're completely inaccessible to man, God, reason, or nature.
So that aspect of things was really important for me.
Just.
It was non empathetic, rude, dissociated behavior.
And I remember, you know, for weeks afterwards, she'd come up to chat with me after yoga class.
And I was like, yeah, you know, happy to chat or whatever.
But I mean, it was pretty clear she wanted to go out again.
But I'm like, my man wasn't going to ask her because that's weird.
Now, it shouldn't take that much.
You know, if you know anything about women, you know that they will go and talk to their friends if they have a date.
And this wasn't exactly a date.
I mean, we didn't hold hands or kiss or anything, but.
They go and now, if, if this woman had said, Oh, I met this guy at yoga, he's really cool and he took me to a movie and blah, blah, blah.
And then he didn't, and it didn't, he didn't call me again or he didn't want to go out again or he didn't ask me again.
Then the friends will, you know, the coven will gather and put their heads together over the cauldron and they will try and puzzle out the mysteries of Steph's motivations and they will examine and overturn every possibility, blah, blah, blah, right?
And they will say, okay, well, what did he say?
Well, he said, uh, you got to hurry.
Okay.
How long did it take you?
Uh, about 40 minutes.
Well, there you go.
Right.
They will climb every mountain.
They will look at every possible permutation of human combinations of potential behavior and they will puzzle it out.
And so this wasn't, you know, if you've ever met people where you can't comprehend that they don't know something, you know, like if you say, I'm going to hurry and then you end up being.
You know, for me, hurrying was 15, 20 minutes, you know, 40 minutes or whatever it was.
I can't remember exactly, but it was just one of these like, what the hell is going on?
And coming out ready, you know, it means that the person doesn't sort of process basic reality, doesn't remember commitments, doesn't have any particular empathy and so on.
But it's okay because she was very pretty.
So what did it matter?
Just kidding.
So for me, what I found most valuable about therapy was trying to get out of the.
The endless quicksand of trying to puzzle out other people's motivations, that's really important.
And just the moral boundaries.
Just the moral boundaries.
I mean, I remember my therapist said about someone in my life, that person has an unlived life as a murderer.
That was, and she had good reasons for it when she puzzled it out, my therapist.
So, yes, the moral boundaries.
What is acceptable?
What is unacceptable behavior?
What are.
The clear markers by which you can differentiate good from evil people.
If you have good people in your life, your life is wonderful.
If you have evil people in your life, your life is hell.
Long before you get there.
All right.
Boom, boom.
All right.
Right, mind reading crystal ball mysticism.
Yeah, that's really terrible.
Also, not always a way of proving motivation.
I didn't mean it could easily be a lie anyway.
Yeah, I mean, I didn't mean it is a form of passive aggression.
Oh, I didn't mean to.
I didn't mean to, blah, blah, blah, right?
No, occasionally, whatever.
I mean, if you play wrestling with someone and you elbow them, oh, I didn't mean to.
Sorry.
Well, that's kind of understood with play wrestling.
But most times when people say, I didn't mean to, what they're trying to do is get you to believe that you're crazy for misinterpreting or being upset with them.
Kant says that intentions and free will are more important than outcomes.
Kant is wrong.
I'm an empiricist, right?
So let's take an example.
This should be relatively easy to prove or disprove.
So let's take an example of the confused physician.
So let's say you have a physician who mishears your complaints and gives you a prescription for something.
But the prescription turns out to be exactly what cures you.
Let's say that another physician hears your complaints and has the genuine intention to help you or heal you, but makes a mistake in the medication and causes you to become paralyzed.
Right?
So one of them is careless in listening and jotting down notes and kind of confused, but they end up writing you a good prescription that saves your life and has you healthy.
Another one is very diligent but makes a mistake, although he definitely wants to heal you and then makes you paralyzed.
Um, one of them has the intention to heal you.
The other one is maybe just one.
It's a bunch of billing or is hurrying you along or whatever.
So, uh, the intention to heal you versus being careless matters less than whether you get healed.
Now, it certainly is true, of course, that the conscientious doctor will most likely heal more people.
But in that particular situation, if somebody accidentally writes you the right prescription, that's better than somebody who deliberately writes you the wrong prescription.
All right.
Four kids deep since I found free domain, says Eric.
I can't imagine what my life would be like if I'd never discovered your material.
UPB in particular has been a guiding light for me all along.
Thank you, man.
Thank you, Eric.
And how wonderful.
I envy the size of your family.
I love my family, but I would have preferred more kids if it had been up to me, but it was not.
All right.
John says, no, motivation and intentions are not mysticism.
In the former case, everyone has motivations whether they tell you explicitly or not.
In the latter, intentions are purely.
Agent-centered.
Well, it's not mysticism in that it's magic and the people are filled with ghosts and the spirits of ancestors and so on.
What I mean is mysticism is the pretense of knowledge you can't achieve or attain.
So it would be mysticism to say, I know exactly how many oxygen atoms are in this studio.
I mean, it's not mysticism in that it's magic and spirits and ghosts and goblins, but it is knowledge that I can never actually attain.
I can never attain the exact number of oxygen molecules.
In this room.
So when I say it's mysticism, what I mean is that you end up making up things.
And it is mysticism because, as I said before, if somebody's honest, they'll tell you their motives if they know them and they may not know their motives, right?
I mean, I have had a long conversation with somebody just the other day where trying to get to the root of their motivations took two hours.
Uncovering Hidden Human Motivations00:03:46
And not many people have the skill to, or the persistence to navigate that kind of conversation.
So, no, it's not mysticism to say everyone has motivations, whether they tell you explicitly or.
Not sure.
Yeah.
I mean, I mean, you're totally right, John.
I mean, it's not mysticism in the way that believing that there are spirits of the ancestors swirling around us.
And you're totally right about that.
I use the term mysticism in that you end up having to make up facts that you will never have proof of or have access to because you are trying to because you can just lie about these things.
There is no objective way to determine someone's intentions because they can claim any intention they want.
So now, of course, in a court of law, right, I mean, if somebody is convicted of first degree murder, they went and hired a hitman, they paid a hitman, and so on, you could say, well, their intention was to kill.
Sure.
But for the most part, in personal interactions where you don't have access to discovery and expert lawyers to cross examine witnesses and empirical proof and a structure of law, trying to figure out why people do stuff is not relevant compared to their actions.
So, if somebody repeatedly insults you, then what matters is that they repeatedly insult you.
Now, you could say, well, they really love you, but they don't know how to express it.
Or, well, they're just jealous and they really admire you, but, you know, they're tormented.
You can just make up anything you want.
The only thing that matters in human interactions is the empiricism of what people actually do.
It's the only thing that matters.
All right.
Somebody says, Hi, Steph.
My girlfriend passed away two nights ago, and I'm wondering if you had any advice on how to move forward.
She was my main support system.
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
It's very heartbreaking.
It's very heartbreaking.
I mean, you're just going to have to roll into a ball and cry.
You're just going to have to grieve and let the grief pass through you.
It's like kidney stones or expelling a demon.
Just let your body do the grieving.
Let your body do the healing.
Accept the emotions.
Don't fight them.
You're going to go from anger to sorrow to self-pity to frustration to agony to loss.
I mean, there is stuff that just has to be worked out really in the full brain, like all the way down to the lizard brain.
I'm really sorry about that.
And if you want to do a call in, I'm happy to chat about it more.
Friedemain.com slash call.
You can do private or public, whatever you like.
And I have not had to deal with that.
So my advice is largely theoretical.
I haven't had to deal with the death of a loved one.
And it's not because I don't love people.
I really do.
But I've not had to deal with it.
So Nathaniel Brandon.
Wrote, was it the disowned self?
I think it was.
He wrote Nathaniel Brendan, who was the psychologist associateslash creepy lover of Ayn Rand, wrote several books that were very good in the realm of self knowledge and psychology.
And he had his wife drowned in their pool in some manner.
And he talks about, you know, just the howling, the agony, the curling up, just that there's a sorrow that you just have to kind of let ride you and so on, if that makes sense.
Mysticism Claims vs Empirical Knowledge00:04:15
And sorry, I just wanted to go back to something that.
John Balfour said.
So he said he comes here just for entertainment.
That's his motivation.
He comes here to mock, to laugh, to insult, and so on, right?
And then he says, no, motivation and intentions are not mysticism.
In the former case, everyone has motivations, whether they tell you explicitly or not.
And the latter intentions are purely agent-concentrated, which is, you know, an intelligent and valuable and useful addition to the conversation.
And I appreciated the requirement for clarification about my term, use of the term mysticism.
So even with John, where he says, Steph is not a thinker, and I'm only here for entertainment.
And then he engages in, I think, a very productive and helpful philosophical way.
So who knows what his motivations are?
Even John doesn't know.
So, all right.
Canada would have been a better place if they'd only let you speak publicly.
Yeah, but of course, I wouldn't be as good a person if they'd let me speak publicly.
All right.
Like, it would be mysticism, let's say.
So, it would be mysticism to claim that I know what you, John, dreamt of last night.
Without you telling me and without any evidence or reading your diary or whatever, right?
It would be a kind of mysticism if I said, I have the uncanny ability to know what you dreamt about last night, right?
That would be a mystical claim because I would not be able to get that knowledge directly.
And so, intentions are sort of the same way in terms of mysticism.
It is immeasurably more efficient to measure others by their actions.
That doesn't mean that it's not important or enlightening to understand your own motivations when they may not be apparent.
Yes, I think that's very, very true.
And, okay.
Oops.
I have the loudest keyboard in the known universe.
All right.
All right, let's see here.
Somebody says, I don't know what my motivations are anymore.
Thought I did, but now I don't know.
Yeah, it's tricky.
And of course, each aspect or phase of life, you know, childhood, teenage years, young adulthood, middle age, old middle age, old age, parenting, husband, grandparenting, each of them have their different sets of motivations and costs and benefits and so on, right?
So I'm just looking up.
Yeah, so any other questions, comments, issues, challenges?
Moral Judgment and Free Will00:06:31
Yeah, so to me, a mysticism is a claim of esoteric knowledge that cannot be achieved empirically.
And usually, of course, it's associated with a God or ultimate universe or some sort of foreign consciousness or something like that, for sure.
But when you are trying to plumb esoteric knowledge that you cannot directly access and then claim to be able to possess it, that to me would be taking the mystical approach to epistemology.
Children will act out when they seek connection, but we cannot judge them based on their actions, but rather the underlying needs not being met.
When you say you judge people, well, we judge children very differently than we would judge adults, right?
I mean, you've heard me say this a million times in calling shows that if you are abused by a sibling, it's a different matter from being abused by a parent, by an adult, by a caregiver and so on.
Children are not in a state of free will.
They are not in a state of being in control of their environment.
In the same way that if someone chooses to voluntarily marry a man who is abusive, then we would say that was an unwise decision, right?
Your husband beats you up or your boyfriend beats you up and you stay with him.
We said it's an unwise decision and we might judge someone for that decision.
On the other hand, If someone is forced to marry someone who turns out to be abusive and they're not allowed to divorce, they're not allowed to separate, they will be killed if they divorce or separate, then we would not have the same judgment for someone who is compelled or has no control over their circumstances or environment as someone who does have control over their circumstances or environment.
In other words, we can only morally judge people for that which they can voluntarily choose.
And we do not choose our parents, we do not choose the country, we do not choose the class that we're born into, we do not choose the race that we're born into, we do not choose the culture.
That we are born into.
I have read Dante's Inferno, and yeah, it would be interesting.
I would have to go through it again and so on.
So, women as a whole will tend to treat people as if they are less free than they are, right?
Which is why they have sympathy for criminals a lot of times and so on.
And so, one of the things is women sort of evolved to deal with.
beings who have little choice and are very much subject to an unchosen environment.
Whereas men generally deal more with, evolve to deal more with adult issues where you hold people morally responsible for their choices.
All right.
Yeah.
And looking at the degree of choice people have is how we scale the degree of moral judgment we apply to the situation.
Obviously, if a baby pees in your eyeball while you're changing the baby's diaper, hey, he's going to be a fireman, then we don't judge the baby morally because the baby is not choosing to do any of that.
However, if an adult holds us down and pees us in our eyeball, that's egregious assault.
And we would put them in prison, right?
Because the baby doesn't have a choice.
In controlling its bodily functions, whereas the adult does.
In the same way, if somebody is drunk and crashes a car, we hold them morally responsible.
But if somebody didn't know they had epilepsy, didn't know they had any tendency towards epilepsy, and then has an epileptic attack while driving a car and crashes the car, we say that's really unfortunate, but they didn't choose that.
Whereas if somebody has epilepsy, didn't take the medication, and then drives, then they're responsible again because they have. a choice.
So you have to look at the degree of choice that people have and then you can judge them positively or negatively morally to the degree that they have choice and children really don't have choice in very much at all.
When you're a teenager it's a little different.
So, can women do both?
It's tough, you know.
It's tough.
Women tend to, for a big generalization, it's a broad generalization, but women tend to approach the world with great empathy and with the hope that love can solve problems and affection can solve problems and with viewing negative behaviors as resulting from a lack of resources.
In other words, the poor will commit less crime if we give them more money, which is not true at all.
In fact, the poor often will commit more crime when they're given more money.
And crime does not result from poverty, but rather criminals move into a neighborhood and make everyone poor.
They're born in a neighborhood, stay there, and make everyone poor.
And so men generally are more about accountability and women more about sympathy.
And both of them are important.
It's a yin and a yang, right?
I mean, you don't want to have just accountability because then that's beating kids for things that aren't their fault.
And you don't want to have just empathy or sympathy because that's not holding people accountable who are making choices.
I mean, you can see, of course, as women gain more and more political power, the sentences for groups that women have been programmed to be sympathetic towards, in other words, people who vote for the left, they get less and less punishment.
But, of course, it's not empathy as a whole because women have largely been programmed to dislike white males.
And so they have that, too.
I think it might be true if we had a true matriarchal society.
Well, but women outvote men.
Women are moving more and more into centers of political, educational, social, literary, and media power.
Appreciating the Lovely Sunday Chat00:00:41
All right, well, I will stop here, and I really do appreciate everyone's time tonight.
What a lovely chat with you all.
I will try and get an X-Space going this Sunday.
And, John, I do appreciate the clarification requirement for use of the term mysticism.
I appreciate that.
And that was a very good addition.
Thank you so much.
Have yourselves a wonderful evening, my friends.
And we will talk to you Sunday at 10 a.m. for sure.
We'll do an X space for that.
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