Hemp

In 2017, $820 million worth of legal hemp products were sold in the United Stares, from medicinal purposes, to textiles, and everything in between. It is the focus of studies in 32 universities across the US and over 1400 licenses were issued to grow hemp. This booming business is deterred only by laws, many of them almost a century old. Aside from being the cousin to marijuana and sharing the same legal status as a controlled substance with no medicinal value and a high risk for abuse, hemp gets a bad rap. Fortunately, public sentiment has grown curious and more open minded on the crop, encouraging industry growth and even influencing law changes. This is not the first time in American history that necessity influenced change in this particular area. Back during WWII era, a program called Hemp for Victory encourages farmers to use their land to grow hemp and use it to supply necessary textiles like rope and parachutes to aid the US in the war effort. Though today this program is oft forgotten, it stands as a testament that change is possible. Today its the medicinal properties and environmental factors that have caught on. CBD supplements have been shown in numerous studies to alleviate chronic pain, anxiety and depression, digestive health, and more. Hemp offers a solution to farmland issues as it requires a reduced acreage, water demands, and labor needs compared to cotton, and stands as one of the most environmentally friendly crops. It’s no wonder that at one point hemp was a farming staple and even considered legal tender in the early years of US history. Modern hemp is a growing industry, so to speak. Useful for industries like textiles, medicine, paper, and even industrial applications, the uses for hemp have exceeded 25,000. Take a look at this infographic for , it’s legal challenges, how smart business leaders are standing up to old fashioned laws, and what to expect for the future of hemp in the United States. the current state of hemp production

Navigating the Business of Hemp

Hemp Fiber as Potential Supercapacitor

The Story-book of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . FLAX AND HEMP CHAPTER XVI. FLAX AND HEMP WHILE listening to what Jacques was saying about wool, Emile examined his handkerchief attentively. He turned it over and over, felt it, then looked through it. Jacques foresaw the question Emile was getting ready to ask him, and he said: “Handkerchiefs and linens are not woolen. Certain plants, cotton, hemp, flax, and not sheep, furnish them; for, you see, I don’t know much about those things myself. I have heard tell of the cotton plant, but have never seen it. And, besides, I am afraid talking to you will make me cut the sheep’s skin.” In the evening, at Jules’s request, they took up the history of the materials with which we clothe ourselves, and Uncle Paul explained their nature. “The outside of hemp and flax is composed of long threads, very fine, supple, and tenacious, from which we manufacture our fabrics. We clothe ourselves with the spoils of the sheep, we make ourselves fine with the bark of the plant. The fabrics of luxury, cambric, tulle, gauze, point-lace, Mechlin lace, are made from flax; the stronger ones, even to coarse sacking, are of hemp. The cotton plant gives us the fabrics made of cotton. “Flax is a slender plant with little delicate blue flowers, and is sown and harvested every year. It is much cultivated in Northern France, Belgium, and Holland. It is the first plant used by man for woven fabrics. Mummies of Egypt, the old land of Moses and the patriarchs, mummies which have lain buried four thousand years and more, are swathed in bands of linen.” Flax “Mummies, did you say?” interposed Jules. “I don’t know what they are.” “I will tell you, my dear child. Respect for the dead is found among all people and in all ages. Man regards as sacred what was the seat of a soul made in the image of God; he honors the dead, but the honors rendered differ according to time, place, customs. We inter the dead and put over the burial place a tombstone with an inscription, or at least a humble cross, divine emblem of life eternal. The ancients burned them on a funeral pile; they piously gathered the bones bleached by the fire and inclosed them in priceless vases. In Egypt, to preserve the cherished remains for the family, they embalmed the dead; that is to say, they impregnated them with aromatics and swathed them in linen to prevent decomposition. These pious duties were so delicately performed that, after centuries and centuries, we find intact in their chests of sweet-smelling wood, but dried and blackened by years, contemporaries of the ancient kings of Egypt, or the Pharaohs. These are what are called mummies. “Hemp has been cultivated all over Europe for many centuries. It is an annual, of a strong, nauseous odor, with little, green, dull-looking flowers, whose stem, of the thickness of a quill pen, rises to about two meters. It is cultivated, like flax, both for its bark and for its grain, called hemp-seed.” “That is the grain, I think,” said Emile, “we give the goldfinch, which it cracks with its beak when it breaks the shell to get out the little kernel.” “Yes, hemp-seed is the feast of little birds. “The bark of the hemp has not the fineness of flax. The fibers of this latter plant are so fine that twenty-five grams of tow spun on the spinning-wheel furnishes a thread almost a league long. The spider’s web alone can rival in delicacy certain linen fabrics. “When hemp and flax reach maturity, they are harvested, and the seeds are separated by thrashing. The next operation, retting, then takes place, its purpose being to render the filaments of the bark, or the fibers, as they are called, easily separable from the wood. These fibers, in fact, are pasted to the stem and stuck together by a gummy substance that is very resistant and prevents separation until it is destroyed by rot. They sometimes do this retting by spreading the plants in the fields for a couple of weeks and turning them over now and then, until the tow detaches itself from the woody part or hemp-stalk. “But the quickest way is to tie the flax and hemp in bundles and keep them submerged in a pond. There soon follows a rot which gives out intolerable smells; the bark decays, and the fiber, endowed with exceptional resistance, is freed. “Then the bundles are dried; after that they crush them between the jaws of an instrument called a brake, to crush the stems into small pieces and separate the tow. Finally, to purge the tow of all woody refuse and to divide it into the finest threads, they pass it between the iron teeth of a sort of big comb called a heckle. In this state, the fiber is spun either by hand or by machine. The thread obtained is ready for weaving. “On a loom they place in order, side by side, numerous threads composing what they call the warp. By turns, impelled by a pedal on which the operator’s foot presses, one half of these threads descends while the other half ascends. At the same time the operator passes a transverse thread in a shuttle through the two halves of the warp, from left to right, then from right to left. From this inter-crossing comes the woven fabric. And it is finished; the garb of the plant has changed masters; the bark of the hemp has become cloth, that of flax a princely lace worth some hundreds of francs by the piece.” About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jean-Henri Fabre (2018). The Story-book of Science. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/56795/pg56795-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html.

FLAX AND HEMP

HackerNoon Reporter: Please tell us briefly about your  background. I’m co-founder of Cornbread Hemp, along with my cousin, Eric Zipperle. Before co-founding Cornbread Hemp, I was a journalist and book author. I wrote the book on , about how my Kentucky hometown was the headquarters of the largest marijuana syndicate in American history. The Cornbread Mafia What's your startup called? And in a sentence or two, what does it do? is a CBD brand based in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. We stand apart from the crowded CBD marketplace by offering products that are Flower-Only™, full spectrum, and USDA organic. No other brand comes close to that level of quality. That’s why we made this . Cornbread Hemp video What is the origin story? I grew up in a part of Kentucky known for outlaw cannabis cultivators called the Cornbread Mafia. Between 1985 and 1989, more than 70 men from my community were arrested on 30 farms in 10 states with 200 tons of marijuana. It’s a story that stayed with me, and after going to college to be a writer, I returned home to write a nonfiction book about the Cornbread Mafia. From the success of that book, I became a journalist covering Kentucky for the Washington Post and cannabis for POLITICO. While reporting a story on hemp in 2018, I discovered the opportunity to enter the CBD market by focusing on creating a premium brand. In late 2018, I joined forces with my cousin, Eric Zipperle, an e-commerce whiz with an MBA. And together we launched Cornbread Hemp in early 2019. By the end of that year, we had become the first company in America to offer Flower-Only™, full spectrum, USDA organic CBD products. In 2020, in the midst of the COVID lockdown, we raised $400,000 in a crowdfunding campaign on Wefunder. And in 2021, we are experiencing crazy growth as we meet new customers across America, who are looking for the best full spectrum CBD products they can find. What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to solve this problem? My partner Eric and I are very well matched. I bring a background in national journalism and connections within the hemp industry and media world. And Eric brings an e-commerce background, accounting experience, and an MBA to the table. We have built a team that is as passionate about our brand as we are, and we are gearing up for great things. If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing? Co-founding this startup is my life’s mission. I can’t imagine doing anything else. At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your core metrics? With more than 200% growth this year, we measure success by monthly revenues, and new customers acquired. The more new customers we acquire, the more return customers we will have as well. We focus on increasing both new customers and return customers. What’s most exciting about your traction to date? Experiencing rapid growth while many other CBD brands are struggling to remain relevant. What technologies are you currently most excited about, and most worried about? And why? We are somewhat concerned about how changes to cookie tracking will alter the overall e-commerce experience for our customers. What drew you to get published on HackerNoon? What do you like most about our platform? I love the intuitive nature of this content management system. Easy to use and customize. What advice would you give to the 21-year-old version of yourself? At 21, I left Kentucky to go to Brown University. Back then, I was convinced that I could carve out a writing career for myself. My advice to that younger version of myself would be to stay strong, to keep doing your thing -- but it’s going to take longer to achieve your goals than you think! So don’t get discouraged. Ambitious goals take time to achieve. WAY What is something surprising you've learned this year that your contemporaries would benefit from knowing? The best thing we learned in the past year was learning how Reg CF crowdfunding works. The 900 investors we met during our Wefunder campaign have become part of our extended family. Cornbread Hemp is nominated as a . Go vote! startup of the year in Louisville

On Prioritizing Quality In CBD Industry, Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp 

Este artículo fue primeramente publicado en . +qL es #másqueley aka #másqueley es la firma hermana de aka #beyondthelaw. +qL holoLAWn If you have legal questions or want to debate, join our . Discord TL:DR The MetaLeX whitepaper aims to give birth to a new kind of law (the ) in order to complete the project of disconnecting the blockchain world from the world of flesh and blood. To free humans from the vertical hierarchy of institutional powers and return them to a space of freedom among equals, a of horizontal hierarchy. A project that to date has a currency and finance separate - in theory - from the state (Bitcoin and Ethereum as respective paradigms of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts that enable decentralised transactions and finance); but a project that lacks an equally separate law to govern that proto-world of a longed-for separate world, a free world. Autonomous Law heterotopia What you will (and won't) find here We are all looking for something. The : a spoiler. Autonomous Law The whitepaper: an interpretation (ours). Phase 1: BORGs. Phase 2: Deal Technology. Phase 3: . Autonomous Law Conflicts with a decentralised and autonomous dimension that are resolved by laws and legal operators that do not contemplate (or do not want to contemplate) decentralisation and autonomy. Conflicts with a decentralised and autonomous dimension that are solved by very cool alternative legal operators, at the time, by humans governed by their own will, . and nothing else Conflicts with a decentralised and autonomous dimension that are resolved by autonomous and decentralised laws that, as such, provide for decentralisation and autonomy. By way of (in)conclusion. ➡️ We are all looking for something We are all looking for something. Diogenes a righteous man in the streets of Athens, candle in hand; Ichabod Crane a kind truth behind the terrifying Headless Horseman; Indiana Jones the Lost Ark in an unbridled race against esoteric Nazis; Sebastian, between the black keys of a piano, the love lost through an infinite renunciation of love for his beloved Mia; and, finally, searches with his MetaLeX for an that will make a free world possible —almost nothing. Gabriel Shapiro Autonomus Law The : a spoiler ➡️ Autonomous Law The to which the devotes the bulk of its text —a third at least— is something like a new normative paradigm, a new kind of legal order that will allow humans to escape the clutches of nation states and their - and -national entanglements. Autonomous Law MetaLeX whitepaper supra infra And given the state of decadence and woke perversion of Western governments, of everything that sounds or resonates with Public Administration —and this is not an opinion: it is an easily verifiable empirical observation, a notorious fact in the technical-legal-proven sense—, it seems to me that the search for MetaLeX is an enterprise worth supporting —we, who still don't know how 😅, we're in! This that dazzles us: Autonomous Law is law because it aims to regulate (in part) human interaction; is decentralised because it will reside on a blockchain; it is ( ) because the blockchain, and everything that resides in it, is code; code code is law it is because, as the execution of code (with or without AI, but AI is also code, and only code - at least for the moment, until consciousness emerges...), it does not require human intervention, i.e. the self-execution of the code is the application of the law itself. autonomous And it is because the government and the legal decision by way of the law-code, at the time of the code, the , will be independent of the as well as of . Neither traditional law, nor the humans who create it, will have anything to say about the rule of code once it is born into the world of the blockchain. autonómica rule of code rule of law the rule of men This deserves clarification in order to escape sophistry. Just as the created cannot free itself from its creation, no law can free itself from the clutches of the man who creates it. Only the constituent law, which initiates a Legal Order, can (relatively) do so under the artifice of the by which it itself, and not its creator, sets itself up as the principle of everything. And, thus, under the impossible that the constituent law itself contains in itself the will to be constituted, as a normative , is that can make it seem as if it is born and we can make it seem as if it is so. legal fiction ouroboros it ➡️ The whitepaper: one interpretation (ours) If you page through the whitepaper, its first ten pages are an interesting introduction that operates as an extensive until, around page ten, we are presented with a sort of table of contents that corresponds to the three phases of logical and chronological development of the MetaLeX project to reach the . captatio benevolentiae Autonomous Law At this point, in these lines, we are not so much interested in how the Autonomous Law is arrived at, nor therefore in the phases, as in the concept of Autonomous Law itself. Moreover - it must be said - because the description of phases 1 and 2 is clear enough to get a good idea of what we are talking about, but not sufficiently detailed to know what the hell we are talking about beyond that idea. We can all get a good idea of what unicorns are from what we talk about them; but none of us can know exactly what the hell a unicorn is until we e.g. see it, tame it, ride it, feed it… From this point of view, we will summarise the phases, in our own style. ➡️➡️ Phase 1: BORGs Phase 1 essentially concerns the creation of blockchain programmes that apply rules in a community of users. fully autonomous In this sense, a law is ultimately a very special kind of rule that is distinguished from other rules by its origin: if the rule is dictated by the state, it is a law; if it is dictated by your father or mother, it is a precept of family behaviour; if it is dictated by a criminal gang, it is the code of a mafia. But for all these groups —state, family, mafia— the rule operates as law, whether it is called law, precept or code; in other words, the law, the precept and the code are functionally equivalent within the respective target community. So a programme on the blockchain that applies rules is, for the purposes of the community resident in the protocol where it is applied, its own law. Whether it is recognised as such outside that community —and this is, strictly speaking, the crux of the matter— is another matter. These programmes are called BORGs ( ) and are like sub-DaOs stripped down, fully autonomous from a parent DAO. Suppose a DAO requires six Fi functions to function. Some of these functions with the current state of the art are fully autonomous; others are not —and that is precisely why we have this mess of BORGs, to gradually implement, as technology makes it possible, the next phases. For each fully autonomous Fi function, a programme is created to implement it, a BORG. This is then like the DAO for the sole purpose of that particular fully autonomous function. Then, there will come a point where for every Fi function of the DAO there is a BORG that implements it. However, not even at that point will the DAO be, let us say, the conjunctive sum of all these BORGs: cyBernetic ORGanisationS {BORGi} ≢ DAO The DAO is an emergence from this set of BORGs, a something more. Just as a daisy is not reduced to the petals that have been shed along with the stem; nor is a company qua legal entity (with or without legal personality, it is not relevant here) the sum of its partners, or the sum of its departments, or the sum of its strategies, or the sum of its articles of association...; so it is not the case that the DAO we have been talking about is the sum of its BORGs. That “something else” which is the daisy or the society qua legal entity with respect to the component parts is a emergence just as the DAO is a mereological emergence of those BORGs. Which brings us headlong into the second phase. mereological ➡️➡️ Phase 2: Deal Technology For this set of BORGs -{BORGs} - to identify with the DAO, it is necessary for its elements to work in a coordinated manner. This will be achieved through a series of agreements between the BORGs that will then validate the identity: {BORGi} + TFA ≡ autDAO Where TFA = Technological Framework Agreement, a set of covenants that make the set of BORGs cease to be just that, a set of BORGs, and become an entity functionally equivalent to the DAO from which they were detached. Now, the final result will be so qualitatively different from the DAO that it will also be substantially different from it: it will be a true DAO (= autDAO) . That is: 2 the set of BORGs plus their TMA operates as a perfectly autonomous and autonomous version (autDAO) of the imperfect autonomous and autonomous DAO that gave birth to them. From this perspective, and as far as these two phases are concerned, it can be said that, at the end of the day, MetaLeX only aims to recover the pure sense of the DAO, a DAO that technological limitations and human praxis have turned decentralisation and autonomy into an absurdity, because I don't care whether the one at the top governs or the one next to him governs, if it is the case that the one at the top and the one next to him have exactly the same power. ➡️➡️ Phase 3: Autonomous Law Our autDAOs —well, those of MetaLeX, that is— as social entities that are also social entities, however much they reside in the blockchain, will interact with each other and with the world of flesh and blood; that interaction will generate conflict; and that conflict will have to be resolved. And this is —in our opinion— where the whitepaper puts its finger on the problem —we recommend reading it, in particular the headings and . We, here, present it as follows: Phase 3-Autonomus Law Conclusion ➡️➡️➡️ Conflicts with a decentralised and autonomous dimension that are resolved by laws and legal operators that do not (or do not want to) contemplate decentralisation and autonomy If these conflicts are resolved under the , state legal systems, also from above and from below), they will de facto nullify the essence of the underlying structures that have been so hard to create. rule of law , trying to explain the Kantian categories of time and space, that the world is seen through the lenses of the glasses you wear: if pink, then rose-coloured. This, which our grandparents used to tell us in other less refined but certainly more understandable ways, is as true as the sun. Warburton explained And so, if it is the case —and it is— that the creators of the laws of the world of flesh and blood do not look at the world through the lens of and , then it is also the case that their laws do not have these concepts embedded in their letter and that, therefore, their application on a decentralised and autonomous factual substratum will overlook in whole or in part the of that factual substratum. In other words: the laws and their application will the decentralised and autonomous dimension of the conflict, so that the conflict will be resolved as if there were no decentralisation and autonomy. decentralisation autonomy decentralised and autonomous nature disregard And it makes no difference to me whether "X is not in Y" or "X being in Y, X is disregarded as being in Y". ➡️➡️➡️ Conflicts with a decentralised and autonomous dimension that are solved by very cool alternative legal operators, at the time, by humans governed by their own will, and nothing else And if these conflicts are solved under alternative conflict resolution procedures (panels of experts, forums of wills or opinion polls outside the blockchain, arbitration tribunals...) which, for the sake of this alternativity, are already considered very cool, the setback is even worse. For under the (apparent) success that the conflict where at least one party is an autonomous and decentralised entity is no longer resolved by inconsiderate state laws, but by highly regarded experts or those considered as such, what we are falling into is personalism. And this only departs in degree, but not in quality, from caveman conflict resolution by the tribal sorcerer. ad hoc Humans have not been trampling the earth for two hundred thousand years —to put a figure on it— to escape the reptilian law of men by way of the rule of law in order to, in more refined but no less unjust ways, end up by overthrowing the rule of law by submitting to the will of a forum of (supposedly) very cool experts: humans. Even the worst of laws with judges is better than the best of judges without laws, if only because the former, at least, will always resolve in the same way, while the latter, who knows how they will end up resolving the day they let themselves be carried away by their rages… ➡️➡️➡️ Conflicts with a decentralised and autonomous dimension that are resolved by autonomous and decentralised laws which, as such, provide for decentralisation and autonomy This, and no other, is the end of the road if the product of phases 1 and 2 is to survive in the long term. A law, the (i) which, as a code inserted in the blockchain, contains rules that are intrinsically decentralised in their conception, whose application generates equally decentralised outputs; and (ii) which, as a self-executing code, is applied whether or not its addressees inside and outside the chain want it to be applied, thus endowing the system with , making the system autonomous with respect to the world of flesh and blood, freeing it from both the rule of law and the law of men. Autonomous Law autonomycity (In)conclusion ➡️ The MetaLeX project is ambitious and exciting. But we shall see whether it remains a wet dream, because even its successful implementation is not enough to make it a successful project. If it is based on the creation of an , then to the creation must be added the , if not generalised, then relevant, at least at the sectoral level, of the Autonomous Law created. Autonomous Law adoption Let us explain. The birth of a Legal System is the result of a pact. But not just any pact. It is a pact for at least two reasons. sui generis It is —first reason— because it is a founding pact and, as such, a ; a pact that subjugates —or so it intends— all the other pacts that exist or will exist, just as the contained, and therefore subjugated —and that one really subjugated…— the . Such a pact is called "constituent" (it is, moreover, the first constitutional pact which can later be modified by other constitutional pacts but which are no longer constituent), and what has been agreed is called "Constitution" or "Magna Carta". sui generis pact of pacts One Ring Rings of Power And that Constitution has the vocation of , which is an exception (and a very big one) to the principle of relativity of contracts, a principle whereby —thank God— agreements only have effects between their parties —and for this reason it is also , second reason. having effects vis-à-vis third parties sui generis Of course, the contracting parties are supposed to act on the mandate (representative at least, imperative as a desideratum) of these third parties. They could not otherwise be bound by this agreement, nor by any other. So by representation (imperative or not) the third parties assume the Constitution just as a third party can assume a contract (it is the figure of the assumption of a contract by a third party). However, for the to work, it is necessary, not only that the greatest number of third parties of the target community assume it, but that all third parties of that community assume it, that the community (be it group, tribe, team, club, society…) assume it as a community. And it is often much more problematic to implement this statement: constituent thing for every Si subject of the community {Si}, Si assumes the covenant, than this other: for a majority of Si subjects of the community {Yes}, Si assumes the pact. Why? Because the world doesn't need to be full of to fuck up the invention; it's enough that there is one for that, to fuck it up. And the fact is that the word “all” beyond rhetoric and poetics becomes a word as problematic as it is problematic —speaking — to prove that . free riders à la Hempel ”all ravens are black” Following the brilliant Searle —later terribly reviled— we can say that: A proposition counts as a rule if it is accepted that this proposition is a rule. This sounds like a truism, but it is not. If I say to you: (Ⲁ) "To get into my house you have to take off your shoes", that proposition will only be a rule if you, as well as I, accept it as a rule. For of a proposition that pretends to be a rule and is not followed by anyone we do not know whether it can be predicated to be a rule —Wittgenstein may have gone half-mad over something like that. And this will be the case of the autDAO after the end of phase 2: they will be entities of the world governed by rules that will be accepted ad intra. But their ad extra acceptance will require an exogenous-dependent plus. And we continue with Searle : 3 "rules of the form are then constitutive of institutional structures”. X counts as Y in C Which we can rewrite as follows: When a proposition counts as a rule in a community, the rule is institutionalised and we can predicate it to be a law that community. for Which, following our example of my house and your shoes, would mean that the proposition (Ⲁ) would not require your acceptance to be a rule if it is the case that in the neighbourhood in which you and I live it has already been accepted as a rule: it is a neighbourhood law —so to speak. All of which, translated to the matter at hand, means that: For the autDAO rules to count as in the blockchain community, it is necessary for the community to consider them as such. Autonomous Law This conclusion is quite hopeless for MetaLeX as the blockchain community is a network of networks made up of tens or hundreds of thousands of communities (layer 1, 2… n; more with the protocols within each layer; more with the organisations within each protocol…). But in the same hopelessness we can find a glimmer of hope, like : Blochian red heroes It is a matter of implementing the community by community blockchain until a relevant group of them accepts it as a supracommunity, (just as the neighbours in your neighbourhood and mine have been accepting house by house and case by case that all houses are entered barefoot). Autonomous Law Or so we see it in ! #másqueley Also published . here

The MetaLeX Whitepaper

So, this is absolutely just another example of me playing around too much, but I had to share. As I mentioned in my yesterday, Google's AI Studio now supports uploading files and working with them in your prompt. post Today, I decided to give the Chat interface a try as I hadn't yet played with it. On a whim, I googled "dungeons and dragons rules PDF" and... well, you won't believe what happened next. (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) First off, the most important thing to note if you want to test with PDFs, ensure that they are OCRed. Right now, AI Studio does not handle that well, but it should be corrected in the future. My Google search turned up the PDF here: , and I confirmed it was properly OCRed with a very scientific test by trying to select a few words. https://media.wizards.com/2018/dnd/downloads/DnD_BasicRules_2018.pdf Note that it's from 2018 and probably a bit out of date, but I figured it was good enough. I uploaded the PDF to Gemini and ensured I was using Gemini 1.5. This is important as the size of the PDF (180 pages) means a rather large token size. The UI reports this nicely: For my first test, I simply asked, "What are the attributes of a player character?" Here's what I got: In Dungeons & Dragons, player characters (PCs) are defined by several key attributes: Race: This determines your character's physical characteristics, ancestry, and innate abilities. Examples include humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, dragonborns, tieflings, etc. Each race has unique traits that affect gameplay. Class: This represents your character's chosen profession and determines their skills, abilities, and progression path. Examples include fighter, wizard, rogue, cleric, bard, etc. Each class has unique features and abilities that define their role in the party. Ability Scores: These six scores represent your character's core physical and mental capabilities: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. They influence almost every action your character takes, from attacking and defending to interacting with the world and casting spells. Skills: These represent specific areas of expertise your character has developed through training or experience. Examples include Athletics, Acrobatics, Stealth, Perception, Persuasion, Arcana, etc. Skills are tied to ability scores and determine your character's success in various tasks. Background: This details your character's history and past experiences before becoming an adventurer. Examples include soldier, criminal, noble, sage, etc. Backgrounds provide additional skills, proficiencies, and roleplaying hooks. Equipment: This includes weapons, armor, tools, and other items your character carries. Equipment affects your character's capabilities in combat and exploration. Personality and Alignment: These define your character's moral compass, beliefs, and behavior. Alignment is a combination of two factors: morality (good, evil, or neutral) and attitude towards society and order (lawful, chaotic, or neutral). Backstory: This is the narrative of your character's life before the game begins, including their motivations, goals, and relationships. A well-developed backstory adds depth and helps you roleplay your character. These attributes work together to create a unique and well-rounded character that you can roleplay and guide through adventures in the D&D world. I'm pretty rusty in D&D, but that surely seems right! (When I shared this in a chat related to Gemini, William Ito skimmed it and said it looks correct for that era - so, I'm taking that as another sign it worked well.) I then asked, "What races are available to player characters?" The most common player character races in Dungeons & Dragons are: Humans: Adaptable and versatile, with no major strengths or weaknesses. Elves: Graceful and long-lived, with a natural affinity for magic and a resistance to charm effects. Subraces include High Elves, Wood Elves, and Dark Elves (Drow). Dwarves: Stout and hardy, with a resistance to magic and poison, and proficiency in combat and craftsmanship. Subraces include Hill Dwarves and Mountain Dwarves. Halflings: Nimble and small, with a natural ability to hide and a resistance to fear. Subraces include Lightfoot Halflings and Stout Halflings. The Player's Handbook also introduces several less common races, including: Dragonborn: Proud and draconic humanoids with scales and the ability to breathe fire. Tieflings: Demonic descendants with a natural affinity for magic and resistance to fire. Gnomes: Inventive and curious small creatures with a natural ability to tinker and a resistance to magic. Half-elves: Combining human and elven traits, they are versatile and have a resistance to charm effects. Half-orcs: Combining human and orc traits, they are strong and fierce with a resistance to being knocked unconscious. Additionally, some campaign settings and sourcebooks introduce even more exotic races, such as Aasimar, Firbolg, Goliath, Aarakocra, Genasi, and many others. The availability of these races depends on your Dungeon Master and the specific campaign setting you are playing in. Remember, the most important factor in choosing a race is to pick one that excites you and fits the character concept you have in mind. I have absolutely no clue if those exotic races exist, but I did a quick search on Aasimar, and it looks like it certainly does: Aasimar Alright, now, at this point, I was impressed. But I thought - why not push my luck? "Given the rules to create a character, create one with all the required characters and give it a name" And holy crap - Gemini delivered! Character Name: Lyra Swiftfoot Race: Lightfoot Halfling Class: Rogue (Thief) Background: Entertainer (Dancer) Alignment: Chaotic Good Ability Scores: (Using the standard set) Strength: 8 (-1) Dexterity: 17 (+3) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 13 (+1) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 15 (+2) Hit Points: 10 (8 + 2 from Constitution modifier) Proficiencies: Armor: Light armor Weapons: Simple weapons, hand crossbows, longswords, rapiers, shortswords Tools: Thieves' tools, Disguise kit (from background) Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence Skills: Acrobatics (+5), Perception (+4), Performance (+6), Stealth (+7) (Expertise in Stealth and Performance) Equipment: Rapier Shortbow and quiver of 20 arrows Leather armor Two daggers Thieves' tools Disguise kit Backpack Bedroll Mess kit Tinderbox 10 torches 10 days of rations Waterskin 50 feet of hempen rope Pouch with 15 gp Personality Traits: I have a quick wit and a fondness for pranks. I am fiercely loyal to my friends and always look out for their safety. Ideal: Freedom: Everyone should be free to live their life as they see fit. (Chaotic) Bond: I will do anything to protect my younger sister, who is the only family I have left. Flaw: I have a weakness for shiny objects and can't resist the urge to steal them, even if it means putting myself at risk. Backstory: Lyra grew up on the streets, using her nimbleness and charm to survive. She learned to dance for coins and honed her skills in stealth and deception to pilfer from unsuspecting onlookers. After her sister was kidnapped by slavers, Lyra vowed to do whatever it takes to find and rescue her, even if it means venturing into the darkest corners of the world. This is just a basic example, and you can further customize Lyra by adding details to her appearance, personality, and backstory. You can also choose different skills, proficiencies, or equipment based on your preferences and the campaign setting. By the way, the formatting above is a bit off, but that came from me copying and pasting from Gemini and being a bit lazy about sprucing it up. I figured I'd push my luck and try again: "do that again please" Character Name: Falion Sunstrider Race: High Elf Class: Wizard (Evocation) Background: Sage (Researcher) Alignment: Neutral Good Ability Scores: (Using the standard set) Strength: 8 (-1) Dexterity: 14 (+2) Constitution: 13 (+1) Intelligence: 17 (+3) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 10 (+0) Hit Points: 8 (6 + 1 from Constitution modifier) Proficiencies: Weapons: Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows Tools: None Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom Skills: Arcana (+6), History (+6), Investigation (+4) (Expertise in Arcana and History) Equipment: Quarterstaff Arcane focus (crystal) Scholar's pack Spellbook with six 1st-level wizard spells (Burning Hands, Charm Person, Detect Magic, Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield) Backpack Bedroll Mess kit Tinderbox 10 torches 10 days of rations Waterskin 50 feet of hempen rope Pouch with 10 gp Personality Traits: I am deeply curious about the world and always eager to learn new things. I am absent-minded and often lost in my own thoughts. Ideal: Knowledge: The path to power and self-improvement is through knowledge. (Neutral) Bond: I am searching for the lost library of a legendary archmage, rumored to contain powerful spells and forgotten lore. Flaw: I am overconfident in my abilities and sometimes underestimate the dangers I face. Backstory: Falion spent his youth studying in a prestigious academy of magic, quickly surpassing his peers with his thirst for knowledge and natural talent for evocation magic. After hearing rumors of a lost library containing powerful spells and forgotten lore, Falion set out on a journey to find it, hoping to unlock its secrets and further his magical abilities. This is just a basic example, and you can further customize Falion by adding details to his appearance, personality, and backstory. You can also choose different skills, proficiencies, or equipment based on your preferences and the campaign setting. So, at this point, I was blown away. Like, I don't even care if it broke any particular D&D rules; that was just fun. But... yeah, I pushed my luck ... ... ... one last time "Of the two characters you just made, who do you think would be a better party leader?" Between Lyra Swiftfoot and Falion Sunstrider, Lyra would likely be the better party leader for several reasons: : Lyra has a higher Charisma score, which is important for inspiring and motivating others. Her background as an entertainer also suggests she is comfortable in front of crowds and skilled at interacting with people. Charisma : Lyra's skillset is more suited to leadership. Her expertise in Persuasion and Deception allows her to negotiate effectively and navigate social situations, while her proficiency in Perception and Stealth makes her a good scout and strategist. Skills : Lyra's personality traits suggest she is quick-witted and loyal, both valuable qualities in a leader. Her flaw, while potentially problematic, can be mitigated by her other strengths and the support of her party. Personality : While wizards can be powerful, their focus on spellcasting and relative lack of social skills often makes them less effective leaders. Class Falion, on the other hand, excels in knowledge and magical power, making him a valuable asset to the party in terms of strategy and information gathering. However, his lower Charisma and lack of social skills might hinder his ability to effectively lead and inspire others. Additionally, his absent-mindedness and overconfidence could lead to poor decisions in critical situations. Of course, the effectiveness of a party leader also depends on the specific campaign setting, the party composition, and the players' roleplaying preferences. In some situations, Falion's knowledge and magical prowess might be more valuable than Lyra's social skills. Ultimately, the best party leader is the one that the players and the Dungeon Master agree upon and who can effectively guide the party through their adventures. My god. That's just... perfect. And honestly, it feels like the right choice for the right reasons. Anyway, this isn't necessarily a deep look at this particular feature, but it was so fun I had to share!

Google Gemini: Your New Dungeon Master?

গুগল মিথুন: আপনার নতুন অন্ধকূপ মাস্টার?

Google Gemini: Ihr neuer Dungeon-Meister?

Google Gemini: ¿tu nuevo maestro de mazmorras?

Google Gemini : votre nouveau maître de donjon ?

गूगल जेमिनी: आपका नया कालकोठरी मास्टर?

Google Gemini: あなたの新しいダンジョンマスター?

Google Gemini: 새로운 던전 마스터?

Google Gemini: seu novo mestre de masmorras?

Google Gemini: ваш новый мастер подземелий?

Google Gemini: Yeni Zindan Ustanız mı?

Google Gemini: Chủ nhân ngục tối mới của bạn?

谷歌双子座：你的新地下城主？

This paper is under CC 4.0 license. available on arxiv Authors: (1) Macoto Kikuchi (菊池誠), Cybermedia center, Osaka University, and Department of Physics, Osaka University and kikuchi.macoto.cmc@osaka-u.ac.jp. Table of Links Introduction Model and Methods Results Discussion and Acknowledgment IV. DISCUSSION The results presented in this paper suggest that the one-way switches are hardly selected in evolution because mutationally robust GNRs are favored. This scenario of the phenotype selection was confirmed by comparing the outcomes of the multicanonical ensemble method and the steady state of stochastic evolutionary simulations because the steady state does not depend on the evolutionary history. We consider this selection mechanism to be widely valid and not restricted to the case studied in this paper. Since this phenotype selection can occur whenever more than one phenotype exists for the same fitness value, we expect this phenomenon to occur in real living systems. We may call it the third-order selection because it is a consequence of the second-order selection. Since the second-order selection is a weak effect, the above phenotypic selection may be a further weak effect. However, as the present results suggest, the phenomenon may become significant if the steady state of evolution is maintained. Such situations can be realized experimentally. For example, it will be possible for the effect to be observed for bacteria under constant stress. It should be noted that what is the matter is not the absolute strength of mutational robustness but its relative strength. Thus, phenotype selection can occur even between mutationally not-so-robust phenotypes. Next, let us consider an implication of the evolution of the model dealt with observed in this paper. The result of McMC shows that most GRNs are monostable at low fitness; then as fitness increases the toggle switches dominate, and eventually most GRNs become one-way switches. A one-way switch of GRN realizes an irreversible change in the cell states. We note that irreversibility was not required in the definition of fitness. Thus, the irreversible switches can emerge even without it being required explicitly as fitness. It suggests the possibility that the irreversibility observed for real cells has evolved from the monostable reversible GRNs. Finally, the present study shows that McMC is an effective method for investigating characteristic properties of evolution. McMC clarifies what kind of phenotypes can exist if the evolution process is not considered. The fact that the outcomes of McMC and evolutionary simulation differ considerably implies a possibility that some phenotypes are not reached by evolution. Considering the experimental situation, such phenotypes may be accessible by direct genome engineering other than evolutionary experiments. Apart from the evolution of living systems, the present results give an insight into the genetic algorithm (GA) of optimization problems; GA is not a fair method for optimization; rather, it will provide the phenotypes bearing a specific property, namely, the mutational robustness, as the optimized solutions. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 23K03261. [1] H. Kitano, Biological robustness, Nat Rev Genet 5, 828 (2004). [2] A. Wagner, Robustness and Evolvability in Living Systems (Princeton Univ Press, 2005). [3] J. Masel and M. L. Siegal, Robustness: mechanisms and consequences, Trends Genet 25, 395 (2009). [4] G. Giaever, A. M. Chu, L. Ni, C. Connelly, L. Riles, S. Veronneau, S. Dow, A. Lucau-Danila, K. Anderson, B. Andre, A. P. Arkin, A. Astromoff, M. E. Bakkoury, R. Bangham, R. Benito, S. Brachat, S. Campanaro, M. Curtiss, K. Davis, A. Deutschbauer, K. D. Entian, P. Flaherty, F. Foury, D. J. Garfinkel, M. Gerstein, D. Gotte, U. Gludener, J. H. Hegemann, S. Hempel, Z. Herman, D. F. Jaramillo, D. E. Kelly, S. L. Kelly, P. Kotter, D. LaBonte, D. C. Lamb, N. Lan, H. Liang, H. Liao, L. Liu, C. Luo, M. Lussier, R. Mao, P. Menard, S. L. Ooi, J. L. Revuelta, C. J. Roberts, M. Rose, P. RossMacdonald, B. Scherens, G. Schimmack, B. Shafer, D. D. Shoemaker, S. Sookhai-Mahadeo, R. K. Storms, J. N. Strathern, G. Valle1, M. Voet, G. Volckaert, C. Y. Wang, T. R. Ward, J. Wilhelmy, E. A. Winzeler, Y. Yang, G. Yen, E. Youngman, K. Yu, H. Bussey, J. D. Boeke, M. Snyder, P. Philippsen, R. W. Davis, and M. Johnston, Functional profiling of the saccharomyces cerevisiae genome, Nature 418, 387 (2002). [5] T. Baba, T. Ara, M. Hasegawa, Y. Takai, Y. Okumura, M. Baba, K. A. Datsenko, M. Tomita, B. L. Wanner, and H. Mori, Construction of escherichia coli k-12 in-frame, single-gene knockout mutants: the keio collection, Mol Syst Biol 2, 2006.0008 (2006). [6] D. U. Kim, J. Hayles, D. Kim, V. Wood, H. O. Park, M. Won, H. S. Yoo, T. Duhig, M. Nam, G. Palmer, S. Han, L. Jeffery, S. T. Baek, H. Lee, Y. S. Shim, M. Lee, L. K. and. K. S. Heo, E. J. Noh, A. R. Lee, Y. J. Jang, K. S. Chung, S. J. Choi, J. Y. Park, Y. Park, H. M. Kim, S. K. Park, H. J. Park, E. J. Kang, H. B. Kim, H. S. Kang, H. M. Park, K. Kim, K. Song, K. B. Song, P. Nurse, and K. L. Hoe, Analysis of a genome-wide set of gene deletions in the fission yeast schizosaccharomyces pombe, Nat Biotechnol 28, 617 (2010). [7] M. Isaran, C. Lemerle, K. Michalodimitrakis, C. Horn, P. Beltrao, E. Raineri, M. Garriga-Canut, and L. Serrano, Evolvability and hierarchy in rewired bacterial gene networks, Nature 452, 840 (2008). [8] E. van Nimwegen, J. P. Crutchfield, and M. Huynen, Neutral evolution of mutational robustness, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 17, 9716 (1999). [9] S. Ciliberti, O. C. Martin, and A. Wagner, Robustness can evolve gradually in complex regulatory gene networks with varying topology, PLoS Comput Biol 3, e15 (2007). [10] S. Ciliberti, O. C. Martin, and A. Wagner, Innovation and robustness in complex regulatory gene networks, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104, 13591 (2007). [11] B. A. Berg and T. Neuhaus, Multicanonical algorithms for first order phase transitions, Phys Lett B267, 249 (1991). [12] B. A. Berg and T. Neuhaus, Multicanonical ensemble: A new approach to simulate first-order phase transitions, Phys Rev Lett 68, 9 (1992). [13] Y. Iba, N. Saito, and A. Kitajima, Multicanonical mcmc for sampling rare events: an illustrative review, Ann Inst Stat Math 66, 611 (2014). [14] A. Kitajima and M. Kikuchi, Numerous but rare: An exploration of magic squares, PLoS ONE 10, e0125062 (2015). [15] N. Saito and M. Kikuchi, Robustness leads close to the edge of chaos in coupled map networks: toward the understanding of biological networks, New J Phys 15, 053037 (2013). [16] S. Nagata and M. Kikuchi, Emergence of cooperative bistability and robustness of gene regulatory networks, PLoS Comput Biol 16, e1007969 (2020). [17] T. Kaneko and M. Kikuchi, Evolution enhances mutational robustness and suppresses the emergence of a new phenotype: A new computational approach for studying evolution, PLoS Comput Biol 18, e1009796 (2022). [18] Y. Omachi, N. Saito, and C. Furusawa, Rare-event sampling analysis uncovers the fitness landscape of the genetic code, PLoS Comput Biol 19, e1011034 (2023). [19] J. J. Tyson, K. C. Chen, and B. Novak, Sniffers, buzzers, toggles and blinkers: dynamics of regulatory and signaling pathways in the cell, Curr Opin Cell Biol 15, 221 (2003). [20] J. E. Ferrell and E. M. Machleder, The biochemical bases of an all-or-none cell fate switch in xenopus oocytes, Science 280, 895 (1998). [21] E. Mjolsness, D. H. Sharp, and J. Reinitz, A connectionist model of development, J Theor Biol 152, 429 (1991). [22] A. Wagner, Evolution of gene networks by gene duplications: A mathematical model and its implications on genome organization, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 91, 4387 (1994). [23] A. Wagner, Does evolutionary plasticity evolve, Evolution 50, 1008 (1996). [24] M. L. Siegal and A. Bergman, Waddington’s canalization revisited: developmental stability and evolution, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99, 10528 (2002). [25] J. Masel, Genetic assimilation can occur in the absence of selection for the assimilating phenotype, suggesting a role for the canalization heuristic, J Evol Biol 17, 1106 (2004). [26] K. Kaneko, Evolution of robustness to noise and mutation in gene expression dynamics, PLoS one 2, e434 (2007). [27] C. Espinosa-Soto, O. C. Martin, and A. Wagner, Phenotypic robustness can increase phenotypic variability after nongenetic perturbations in gene regulatory circuits, J Evol Biol 24, 1284 (2011). [28] M. Inoue and K. Kaneko, Cooperative adaptive responses in gene regulatory networks with many degrees of freedom, PLoS Comput Biol 9, e1003001 (2013). [29] M. Inoue and K. Kaneko, Cooperative reliable response from sloppy gene-expression dynamics, Eutophys Lett 124, 38002 (2018). [30] F. Wang and D. P. Landau, Efficient, multiple-range random walk algorithm to calculate the density of state, Phys Rev Lett 86, 2050 (2001). [31] F. Wang and D. P. Landau, Determining the density of states for classical statistical models: A random walk algorithm to produce a flat histogram, Phys Rev E 64, 056101 (2001). [32] J. Lee, New monte carlo algorithm: Entropic sampling, Phys Rev Lett 71, 211 (1993).

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