Re: [projectvrm] Blockchain is not only crappy technology but a bad vision for the future

[Jason Wong < >]

+1

Similar to humanity’s use of money, there are always a minority of amoral, lawless, self interested people. But we all use money because it facilitates trade through the abstraction of trust and is one of the most important reasons our species has succeeded.

There are those that appear to only be self interested- but they may even have the self insight to understand this is their best way to create, innovate, and contribute to humanity. That is why diversity is good and we have survived as a species. Some of these people will even be labeled as the amoral self interested group. Sometimes it’s hard for people to tell the difference.

Don’t believe the hype that blockchain is a Ponzi scheme, a waste of energy (the energy used to secure the immutable record for all of us) and only used by criminals. Doc is right, the first person that tamed fire was probably thought to be dangerous and an idiot.

Public blockchains (and I’m only speaking of very few of them due to merkel’s law), specifically the application of the security and immutability of public tokens that can, with each very little piece of a token, represent an almost infinite and definitive control of personal data without the use of a third party. It’s revolutionary, scary, and might be very very difficult to understand the implications. Forgive my honesty but it has taken me 4 years full time to try to understand it and I have 3 postgraduate degrees, including a MBA. One must understand finance, human empowerment, philosophy, macroeconomics, cryptography, and hardest of all what is money.

On Sat, Apr 14, 2018 at 11:19 AM Doc Searls < "> > wrote:

Hmm..

It starts this way:

This piece by Kai Stinchcombe on why blockchain is a terrible idea is pretty dang quotable—he tackles the crazy idea that blockchain is a magical technology wand that you can wave around and solve the “trust problem” between groups of people. My favorite point is this one though:

A lawless and mistrustful world where self-interest is the only principle and paranoia is the only source of safety is a not a paradise but a crypto-medieval hellhole.

I’ve sat and talked with blockchain enthusiasts over dinner, I’ve shared their homes for an evening, I’ve looked them in the eye when they start their spiel about why this technology will save the world. 

I know a lot of blockchain people, and none of them are like that, or want to build a “world where self-interest is the only principle.” It’s a big category. Find some other people to talk to about it—ones that aren’t out to score a quick hit or save the world next week.

I remember when it seemed like PCs were all hype (roughly 1975-1982). Then the IBM PC came along, and the Mac, and here we are.

I also remember when the Internet seemed all hype (roughly mid-80s to mid-90s). Then graphical browsers and ISPs happened, and here we are.

I could go on, but you get my point.

It’s early. But the development is real. There’s fire making the smoke.

I’m not old enough to remember the discovery of fire, but I do know we’ve found a lot of uses for it.

Doc

On Apr 14, 2018, at 11:05 AM, John Philpin < " target="_blank"> > wrote:

"Blockchain is not only crappy technology but a bad vision for the future."

https://robinrendle.com/notes/blockchain-is-not-only-crappy-technology-but-a-bad-vision-for-the-future/

#Discuss

John
+1 (808) 344-2914

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