In this solo YouTube monologue, Jonathan Lejeune (formerly a cult survivor and crypto trader) explains how human attention works like an audio filter, how media and crypto promoters exploit these filters to capture attention, and why this leads to costly scams such as the FTX collapse. He contrasts the fleeting, hype‑driven crypto tokens (the "noise") with Bitcoin, which he frames as a durable, reliable signal and true sound money. Drawing on Warren Buffett’s value‑investing principles, Lejeune argues that Bitcoin’s steady, long‑term growth mirrors the qualities of established, undervalued businesses, while most other crypto projects are speculative and prone to pump‑and‑dump schemes. He urges viewers to develop rational filters, adopt a Bitcoin‑centric financial lens, and educate themselves, while also promoting his Substack and the Consensus Network’s Bitcoin‑focused publishing venture.
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TranscriptAuto-generated · 9 min
My name is Jonathan Lejeune, and my path from cult survivor to crypto trader to Bitcoiner taught me what I needed to know about sound money and why the world desperately needs it. Today we're going to talk about how your mind filters out certain kinds of information while latching on to other kinds, and how people are out to take advantage of that in order to get you to pay attention to them, ignoring what's really important. So let's talk about it. Hey! I've teamed up with the Consensus Network, a Bitcoin-only enterprise which publishes and translates books about Bitcoin from a variety of respected Bitcoin educators. The link to Consensus is in the video description, and if you decide to make a purchase, you'll be supporting this channel as I receive a small percentage of each sale. Thank you in advance for your support. This is my Substack where I write articles on Bitcoin and discuss them in these videos. Today, the article that I'm going to talk about is called The Signal Amidst The noise. Why Bitcoin, not crypto? So let's get right into it. In addition to being a software developer, I also do a lot of audio/video editing and production, like in these videos here. One of the banes of audio editing is getting perfect quality sound. Depending on the mic you're using, every little noise in the background can find its way into the recording. But the most problematic issue is constant noise from things like air conditioning. This isn't a problem for professional studios, when you record at home, it is. The reason constant noise is such a problem is that your brain adapts to it and filters it out. If you're sitting in a quiet room and the air conditioner kicks on, you'll hear it when it happens, but within a few seconds, you stop noticing it. Unless the constant noise is pretty loud, it just disappears into the background unnoticed. Your brain does this with touch and smell also, its natural filters keeping your senses focused on what really matters. Fortunately for people who work on audio and video, tools have been developed that mimic these natural filters. They're pretty good too. I can usually get rid of most background sounds, like air conditioning, without affecting the quality of the audio in a meaningful way. That's saved my bacon more than a few times when my own internal filter caused me to forget the air conditioner was running and I didn't turn it off while I was recording. In fact, while I was writing up this particular article, I realized that the vent fan in the bathroom connected to my office was running. I got up and turned it off, and then I could hear the air conditioner was running. That's another point. Sometimes one noise is so loud it drowns out another. The thing about your brain is that it has limited focus. Focusing your attention on something requires energy, and all biological life has evolved for, or if you prefer, has been designed to conserve energy. It's a survival mechanism. Expending energy requires food to replenish it, and while your refrigerator and the grocery store are easily accessible today, That wasn't always the case. Living in the wild requires conservation to avoid starvation and death. It's the reason some mammals like bears hibernate. Food is scarce in the winter, so better to minimize energy loss and sleep through it until food is more readily available. Because of this conservation of energy, your brain is selective, putting into the forefront of your consciousness the things that are most likely to immediately impact you. Information you're accustomed to gets put on the back burner, While new information takes precedence. You already know how what you already know will impact you, but you need to pay attention to new stuff in case it can be used to your benefit or your harm. That's why it's often difficult not to pay attention to the television on the wall at a restaurant while you're eating. The constantly changing images draw your mind's attention. In survival situations, this filter is a powerful life preservation technique. In modern society, however, it's constantly manipulated by people wanting your attention for their own benefit. Benefit. The news media jumps on every sensational story and creates updated articles with every juicy new fact or event for this reason. Because we're tribal by nature, the desire for social acceptance is powerful, and that means information regarding our own status within the group seems important to us. If one of the leaders of our chosen political party one-ups the other side, or if they take a hit, because we associate ourselves with that group, we pay attention. Our brain believes that their standing within the tribe will have an impact on our own. In a country of millions of people, that's usually not true, of course, but our biology is wired for tribes of typically just a few dozen people. Our brain doesn't know how to behave any other way. Our natural instinct to be successful within the tribe also comes into play with our financial decisions. We want to survive and thrive, so we're always on the lookout for how to improve our financial position and social status. This is another way in which people try to manipulate our affinity for new information. Get-rich-quick schemes promising outsized returns in short periods of time are tempting if we allow our instinctive reaction to overrule our rational decision-making. That's easy to do because the instinct is strong. It takes practice to keep the rational mind in control, which is why children are generally much more impulsive than adults. In the crypto community, the desire for gains hurt a lot of people this year. Numerous companies promising unrealistic returns crashed and burned when the markets dropped and made the Ponzis they were running impossible to maintain. FTX was, of course, the largest of these collapses, with an estimated 1 million creditors being owed money in its bankruptcy filing. The impulsive desire for wealth and status overrode a lot of people's rational judgment. Learning to separate the signal from the noise in these situations is an important skill. It's paradoxical that the very filters developed by the brain to keep you safe can be used against you in this way, but that's just the reality. This is common in the crypto world. New projects come out all the time, their founders making bold claims and promises about how their tech will change the world and gain global adoption. Influencers are paid to shill the tokens, and buyers come flooding in anticipating 100x gains. The founders, holding most of the supply, line their pockets by dumping their tokens into the buying frenzy, and the project eventually fails completely or fades away. To remain focused on what's really going to help you in the world of finance, you need to develop a rational set of filters that keep your biological ones at bay. Rather than giving your attention to the next big thing, ask yourself if what's being promised sounds too good to be true. Warren Buffett's investing strategy has been to put money into companies that are already doing well, that have potential for growth, But are currently undervalued. Buffett's largest holdings include the likes of Apple, Bank of America, American Express, Chevron, and so on. They're all well-established, successful businesses with long histories, and most of them aren't flashy at all. Bitcoin is the signal amidst the noise of crypto. In comparison to flashy projects backed by famous influencers, Bitcoin may seem boring, but that's a benefit, not a flaw. It's steady and reliable, its power-backed network designed to be secure as sound money must be. Bitcoin has continued to soldier on these past 14 years, its average coin-to-fiat ratio and hodler count rising while crypto tokens come and go. A lot of people jump into Bitcoin in the hope of quick riches, but when they start to learn what it really is, some stay for the world-changing impacts it was designed to create. Warren Buffett hasn't come around to Bitcoin yet because he doesn't understand how to value it. That's not uncommon in the world of finance, which is why it's so important to educate people about Bitcoin. Most people look at Bitcoin through the lens of fiat, the only money they've ever known. That lens is dirty and warped, and viewing Bitcoin through it produces a disfigured image. Diving into the rabbit hole wipes away the filth and grime of the looking glass and reveals the pristine, sound money the world has always needed but never had. Once you know, you can't unknow. Your clean new Bitcoin lens lets you see the world financial system for what it really is, and that gives you the tools you need to filter out the noise, leaving only the clear voices of those who would see the world become a better place for all. Well, that is all I have for you today. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to click like. Don't forget to subscribe to my channel, and I will see you next time.
