D-Squared Musings Week 1

Patrick has done a great job tracking the main Ethereum security incidents throughout 2022. For my fellow n00bs and intermediate crypto security folks, I highly recommend spending time reading through this piece. Bonus points if you create a few of your own writeups building off of this treasure trove of content.

Here’s a golden nugget I stumbled across while digging into the realm of Zero Knowledge Proofs. This series of presentations is a rare look into what ZK security researchers are actively working on day-to-day. Definitely worth subscribing to Delendum

Property-based fuzz testing can be a bit overwhelming, especially when attempting to audit a larger contract. Trail of Bits has done a great job in this video series going from basics to real-life scale audits. The secret is to thoroughly understand the contract you’re auditing (start small), then build the skill of thinking in invariants (i.e. things that should stay constant within the contract). If you’re able to consistently build those skills, you’ll be auditing with the best of them. P.S. The video quality is pretty bad, but legible.

Through simple intermittent fasting, I’ve surprisingly stumbled across the highest quantity and quality of mental clarity I’ve ever had. There are three levers one can pull when it comes to nutrition as Peter Attia would say (i.e. what, how, and when). Over the past 8 years, I’ve consistently pulled the lever of “what” I’m eating and “how” much, rarely touching “when” I eat. During that period every 1 to 2 years, I’ve Iterated through basic bodybuilding, vegan, keto, and paleo diets. Now I’ve decided to play with the “when” lever, restricting my feeding window between 4 – 5 hours, then fasting the rest. If you’re interested in mental clarity this could be a consideration for you… Obviously, consult your doctor before doing anything crazy.

Over the last 3-weeks, I’ve spent a good amount of time thinking about death (don’t worry nothing serious). It’s something we’ll all face, but consistently label discussion around death as awkward or taboo. I’ve picked up a few books on the topic, so I’m better able to grasp the idea, as well as see what “tips/tricks” can be shared around acceptance and preparation. The above book is the most practical book I’ve come across for preparation. I’m genuinely surprised by the amount of preparation there is to make the process after death easier on those around you.