CoinDesk Confidential: Auryn Macmillan

Auryn Macmillan helps the prediction market-driven collective GnosisDAO run. That might help explain his curious answer when asked "would you choose to live forever?"

"I have FOMO about the future," he said, describing the fear of missing out. "[B]ut I don't want to commit up-front to an eternity of hovering alone in the void watching the heat-death of the universe unfold."

Macmillan is a speaker at this year's Consensus Festival and the latest to answer CoinDesk Confidential, an updated version of the Proust Questionnaire. The original survey, popular in the French novelist's day, aims to catch a glimpse of someone's "true nature" by asking a series of surface-level and head-scratching questions.

Do you own bitcoin?

Not anymore

Do you own dogecoin?

No

What about SHIB?

No

Where are you from?

N/A

Greatest fear?

Fear

Greatest joy?

Family

What is the quality you most like in a man/woman/person?

Happiness

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Politeness

Do you often remember your dreams?

Yes

Do you like lemons?

Yes

Is crypto still blossoming?

Yes

Is crypto an ugly duck?

Wut?

Should Elon Musk run Twitter?

Only if the underlying data is open

Should countries be run as companies?

No

In 100 years, will there be more or fewer monies?

More

Is the U.S. dollar a Ponzi scheme?

Yes

Who is your favorite politician? Why?

I don't like politicians

Is Bitcoin forever?

No

Which living person do you most admire?

Neil Degrasse Tyson

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Perfection is a myth

Ću vi parolas esperanton?

Ne

Do what you want or do what you must?

If you must, then the decision has already been made

Would you choose a green thumb or the absolute guarantee you will never get gangrene?

Green thumb

What is your best characteristic?

Curiosity

What characteristic do you most deplore in yourself?

Irrational social anxiety

Do you use a hardware wallet?

はい

Greatest extravagance?

Frequent international travel

Your worst regret?

Not buying more in the presale

Favorite TV show? (What you're watching now?)

I don't really watch TV

Any words of wisdom?

When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all.

You can have one historical figure over for coffee, who do you choose?

Richard Feynman

Jack Dorsey wanted a “Blue Sky” for Twitter; should the web only be built on open protocols?

Yes

Approximate size – depth and width – of the largest hole you’ve dug?

About 3 meters in diameter and 1.5 meters deep

What is your greatest achievement?

Keeping children alive

AI. To be pursued?

Yes

Your current state of mind?

Ready for bed

Would you choose to live forever? Why or why not?

If I could choose to die at will, then yes. Because I have FOMO about the future, but I don't want to commit up-front to an eternity of hovering alone in the void watching the heat-death of the universe unfold.

Do cars look like faces to you?

Some of them, for sure!

Dogs or cats?

Dogs

Can dogs smile?

They can certainly look happy, not sure if I'd call it a smile.

Who is your favorite singer?

Simon & Garfunkel

Napkins: for or against them?

For... is anyone seriously against napkins? Why?

Do you have a library card?

Yes

How is the weather today?

It was a little cooler than I like, but nice enough to get outside and enjoy it.

On what occasion do you lie?

When telling the truth would not improve the situation for anyone.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?

Asymmetric ears

Which living person do you most despise?

Honestly, I don't know that I really despise anyone. Despise feels like it requires active participation. If I dislike someone that intensely, I tend to just act like they don't exist, because I don't want to commit energy toward them in any way.

Do you write a list before grocery shopping?

Yes

If you could be safely catapulted somewhere, would you prefer to walk?

No way, put me in the catapult!

Do you own an article of clothing that could be called indigo?

Not anymore

Bees see ultraviolet; do you see the same world (or most of it)?

Do they? That's so cool! Yes they see the same world, but they have a different perspective on it (also because they are bees 😅)

New York or San Francisco bagels?

Don't know the difference

How many glasses of water do you drink per day?

I mostly drink water out of a big metal canister... so... none... but also lots.

Are birds real?

I have no reason to suspect they are not.

What drives you?

Curiosity

Would you ever drive a red convertible regularly?

Sure, so long as it was reasonably priced, the weather was nice, baby seats fit in the back, and I fit in it comfortably the seats. Like a red convertible minivan.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?

Life, my wife, and the family we've built.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

"Mate", "cheers," and "yeah, yeah, yeah"

What’s your strongest-held belief that would get you "canceled"?

Oh, I honestly don't know.

What’s the funniest/smartest tweet you’ve seen that can recall off the top of your head?

I'm really bad at recalling things like this off the top of my head without some other context. Like I'm sitting here and literally can't recall a single tweet other than the one I have pinned on my twitter profile.

Single favorite meme?

Fresh shave meme

If you could be granted one superpower, what would it be?

Come-on, you can't ask that question without some qualifiers. Otherwise the only acceptable answer is something like "the ability to grant super powers / wishes".

How would you like to die?

Peacefully at some distant point in the future, prior to the heat-death of the universe.

In three words or fewer, what is currently the largest detriment to society?

Moloch

In three words or fewer, what is currently the greatest hope for society?

Empathy and progress