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backus's profile
John Backus
John Backus
John Backus
@backus

Tweets

John Backus

@backus

Shameless, dissonant, and obsessive. Founded @getcognito. Side project = @jamdotlink

Miami
Joined August 2012

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    John Backus‏ @backus 7 Feb 2019

    Make an idea crystal clear and everyone will pick it apart, weakening its power. Obfuscate the idea, requiring it be unraveled, and smart readers will reinterpret in different ways, steelmanning it at scale.

    9:54 PM - 7 Feb 2019
    • 75 Retweets
    • 562 Likes
    • Jan Keromnes The Fun Food Zone Media Industry Briefly Josh Schairbaum Elizabeth Sushant Taing nevil bharat doctor Evan Schoenbach plujoenium❤️‍🔥
    23 replies 75 retweets 562 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Kevin Kwok‏ @kevinakwok 7 Feb 2019
        Replying to @backus

        Obfuscation as decentralization

        1 reply 1 retweet 25 likes
      3. John Backus‏ @backus 7 Feb 2019
        Replying to @kevinakwok

        This is bait but you're also not wrong

        1 reply 0 retweets 15 likes
      4. Show replies
      1. Brian Lui‏ @brianluidog 7 Feb 2019
        Replying to @backus

        We call it "wrapping", like wrapping up a nice present for friends to unpack!

        0 replies 0 retweets 4 likes
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      1. Anna Gát  🧭 Miami/NYC (Jan10-Feb7)‏ @TheAnnaGat 7 Feb 2019
        Replying to @backus

        Wrt intrinsic (moral) value of information, I agree. Yet, weirdly, from a utilitarian POV, while clear ideas are better to learn from, some of the best moments of inspiration (via, I guess, association including *misunderstanding*?) happen because of obfuscating texts. And music!

        0 replies 0 retweets 7 likes
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      1. New conversation
      2. Connor Jacobsen‏ @cnnrjcbsn 7 Feb 2019
        Replying to @backus

        This is basically what happened with the American Revolution. Jefferson and Paine talked about it in principles and provided few details. Makes it antifragile and prevents you from getting bogged down by minutiae.

        1 reply 0 retweets 2 likes
      3. Connor Jacobsen‏ @cnnrjcbsn 7 Feb 2019
        Replying to @cnnrjcbsn @backus

        There’s a quote from “On Grand Strategy” that puts this better than I can. Will have to dig it up at some point.

        0 replies 0 retweets 2 likes
      4. End of conversation
      1. Raymond‏ @rfinz 7 Feb 2019
        Replying to @backus @literalbanana

        Ideas are pretty strong so for small values of everyone they shouldn't be able to pick them apart

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Saturn Network‏ @SaturnProtocol 7 Feb 2019
        Replying to @backus

        Is this why nobody is quite sure what is the reason for $BLT?pic.twitter.com/0B6fqpCy9N

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
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      1. New conversation
      2. Jeff Lonsdale‏ @JeffLonsdale 8 Feb 2019
        Replying to @backus

        Esoteric writing is like hazing. People value things more after they have suffered for them.

        1 reply 0 retweets 9 likes
      3. Wojtek Kruszewski‏ @wkrsz 8 Feb 2019
        Replying to @JeffLonsdale @backus

        Reminds me of "Sans Forgetica" reported to increase memory retention of the text by make it more difficult to readhttps://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/bizarre-looking-font-helps-you-remember-what-you-read-ncna921736 …

        0 replies 1 retweet 5 likes
      4. End of conversation

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