As I write, I focus on translating US, Canadian, and world events—from the contorted language of media, politicians, Keynesian economists, and pundits—into terms that make sense.
Step 1: I run information through a cognitive filter that screens out most of the unlimited BS and gaslighting that floods our feeds each day. That filter is built from a combination of Austrian economics and Natural Law morality.
Step 2: My written commentary runs through a lens designed to help prevent me from spewing out my own BS into print. That lens is also built from a combination of Austrian economics and Natural Law morality.
At this point, few things slip through. One reader recently corrected me when I used the term money where I should have said currency. I’m grateful for all such corrections.
Building the lens and filter
My lens and filter were not manufactured by my college education. My college years ended 40 years ago (holy crap). My undergraduate degree is in Geology. Beyond just Mineralogy, Petrology, and Economic Geology, I gained the most from Structural Geology because it taught me 4-dimensional thinking, a skill that has helped me in my diverse career pursuits, particularly in medicine.
Back then, progressive indoctrination of students in academia had begun, but it was nascent. I survived it, but it didn’t help me think soundly.
Soundness came in my first year of medical school, but not from the med school itself. My roommate was also a med student … and a football player, and a libertarian. His girlfriend worked in the White House. He spent that first year calling BS on all the BS that had entered my brain during college.
To stay in physical shape, we would do pushups, drawing one card at a time until we went through the whole deck. Drawing a Jack prompted 11 pushups. An Ace required him to do 14, but I counted an Ace as a 1. When my shoulders and pecs needed a rest halfway through the deck (his never did), we’d stay in cognitive shape by talking through current events. And through this, I learned his lens and filter. I am always grateful for my roommate—whose name was (and still is) also John. We both joined the military. Two libertarians in the military. Somehow we avoided Leavenworth.
I’m a Pediatrician, Pediatric Pulmonologist, and an Adult and Pediatric Allergist/Immunologist. I had a busy career through my tenured faculty position, and it dominated most of my days. But I found time to read beyond medicine. I hold some patents, have founded several companies, and served as a Chief Medical Officer, Chief Scientific Officer, Chief Executive Officer, and even a Chief Financial Officer for various private entities, from tiny to midsize (up to about $150 million in revenue), mostly in the medical space and a bit in transportation.
Over the decades, I read The Creature from Jekyll Island, then Hazlitt, then Hayek, the Encyclopedia of Libertarianism, and Richard Maybury’s Uncle Eric series, along with a zillion other books and commentaries that helped tune my filter and lens and make my BS meter increasingly sensitive and specific. Brainwashing is a process that prevents the recipient from perceiving truth. I went the other way.
Gold became a go-to friend. I made my first failed speculation in a gold mining stock in 1995. It was touted to me by a friend (again named John) to whom it had been promoted by a guy who called himself The Rogue. I shoulda known. It was a valuable early lesson.
When Bitcoin came along, another friend (indeed, yet another one named John) introduced it to me. That was back in the days of Mt. Gox. Bitcoin became, in my mind, commoditized freedom. It was a way to be outside the fiat system. It provided hope, for a time.
Before Bitcoin, few people had heard of the term fiat currency or knew the definition of money. The government, the Fed, and the academy had built a full fiat currency regime while keeping that whole reality clouded in Keynesianism and ignorance. Even during the late ’70s and early ’80s, when “inflation” was running rampant, I don’t think that we—the hoi polloi—realized that it was the printers of fiat currency and creators of credit who were responsible. It was Bitcoin that taught many people the word fiat and provided an option that was new, exciting, modern, and different from gold. And Bitcoin started making some libertarians rich. That was good too.
My corner of the world
I learned the pointlessness of political involvement. I have avoided all political involvement except briefly during Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential run. I was big into Ron Paul. I remember Anderson Cooper as the moderator of a Republican debate. He gave Ron Paul no time to speak and asked him perhaps one question, and that question was about Mitt Romney (another candidate). Any residual respect I may have had for the media was lost about that time as well.
The media folk did not want anyone like Ron Paul in a position of power.
When I met Doug Casey in 2012, my previous decades of learning were put to the test. I had a reasonable foundation, but I paled in comparison to Doug in terms of soundness and comprehensive understanding. I brought stuff to the table too, and I am fortunate to get to hang out with Doug most every day, at least when he’s in the US. Interactions with him exercise my brain and, over the years, have exorcised any residual unsound thinking I may have had.
We write our novels together. Initially we whipped them off. Now it’s slower. That’s okay. Our hero, Charles Knight, needs to earn some silver hair. He’s moving beyond being a Speculator, Drug Lord, and Assassin.
When International Man was in transition almost a decade ago, I was its publisher for a year. Then Mona Giambruno took that role. She’s amazing. And now I’m editor of Crisis Investing. And I get to write more and learn by doing it. It’s a damn fun job.
As I study up on subjects for each article, I think about what it would be like not to have the filter and the lens that I have crafted over the decades. How easy it must be, for those so inclined, to manipulate people who don’t have any system to filter out the miasma that flows around us all. How can people determine what might be truth within a sea of lies, propaganda, and hyperbole, when they have no sound foundation?
We can’t change the world any more than we can change the universe. What we can do is improve our tiny corner of the world, however big we choose that corner to be. Family (for me, including children and now grandchildren). Or family and friends. Family and friends and neighbors. Family and friends and co-workers. A larger community. Whatever corner we choose, we can make better. But as to fixing our countries? Our chance of impacting our countries approaches zero.
Making our corner of the world better is a good purpose. So, at Crisis Investing, I write from my perspective of Austrian economics and Natural Law morality, with the intent to help generate wealth morally. Such wealth we can then deploy morally as well.
That’s my intent.
Thanks for reading,
John Hunt, MD
Editor, Doug Casey’s Crisis Investing
A wonderful essay from Dr and multi degreed John Hunt, a truly great view shared as to how to, how anyone with the will and commitment can achieve and retain true individual agency and sovereignty, in other words realise self.. their self, who they are, the thing that will define them, influence their true persona.
Personally I found it uplifting and a reinforcement of how I view the world, immediately seeing in in John a kindred spirit, such realisations are truly cathartic, refreshing, and as noted uplifting for the soul, for the spirit within.
Thank you Dr John a man influenced along the way by many Johns, now we too can say a man named John has influenced and impacted each of us who take his work seriously and literally, I exhort you if you haven’t to read as much as possible, Dr John, our friend John has kindly given you a wonderful reading list, the best of which I can concur are the books Austrian Economics and The Man from Jekyll Island, both insightful, I will secure and make a point of reading the rest of those illustrated Natural Law, Hayek, Hazlett and Uncle Eric… like John I can attest to reading together discussing, debating, exchanging ideas as the best education received, what is taught at University in school merely a means of formalising and adding structure to learning…
Indeed as many will undoubtedly relate and understand, actually know, more has been learned actually doing, hands on outside of any formal education matriculated or received, think Tradies, Builders, Plumbers, Chefs, Seamstresses, etc.. or Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers, Traders, the real education is learned doing, on the job… what was learned at University, school merely setting you up with a basic foundation to build upon… hence my thanks to my new influence, John… who like those same named he had met, been influenced by throughout his life until this point, has also influenced more so than I think he truly knows… thank you Dr John for everything you write, everything you have given, one writer I don’t go past… won’t ever go past until the day arrives he no longer writes… in that we can say whilst on occasions we might not always concur or agree on everything opined, we are however truly fortunate indeed to be able to access the ideas and opinions from such a learned individual …. for those who find reading books a chore, boring, such writers provide the fat man route to learning, in essence the quintessential shortcut, irrespective how you learn, just get there I say …. just saying.
Kia Kaha (stay strong) from New Zealand
Today's missive is certainly from your "center".
As a retired MD{cv surgeon), veteran(Nam 68-78), "practicing" academic(Vice- chairman Midwest medical school)78-83, I find your prose most uplifting. Gee! There ARE others out there like me.
It's a relief.
Never had the time to reflect as you do. Now I do.
I needed that.
Thanx,
DFH