Listened to Michael Saylor on the nostr:npub1r8l06leee9kjlam0slmky7h8j9zme9ca32erypgqtyu6t2gnhshs3jx5dk podcast. It's 3 months old, but sheds some light on the ARK funding story.
TL;DW: Saylor strongly believes in *OSSIFICATION NOW*. From that POV, protocol development is a liability.
Some quotes (and thoughts)👇
"You only get to play God once. And Satoshi played God. And you can say 'well Satoshi got to do it, why can't I?' Well the answer is Satoshi did it, the reason we're talking about Satoshi is 'cause the other 100,000 would-be Satoshis failed. If you read the history of the world, work your way through 10,000 pages of Western history, there will be thousands and thousands and thousands of episodes of 'alpha male thinks he was put on this earth, you know, to change everything', full of hubris [...] he's gotta do more, change more, etcetera.'" (53:34)

"Bitcoin Core developers, or protocol developers, they want to fix something, or they want to make a contribution, because it's in their DNA, but developers are just the lawyers of cyberspace. When a lawyer shows up at the capital, they gotta make a law to save you from yourself, and the more laws they make, the more they cripple the economy, until eventually there's so many laws that the entire civilization collapses under its own weight." (58:06)

"The world is full of people that need something to do. I would say, the real key to wisdom, channel your energy constructively. If you're gonna do something, improve Lightning, build an application, persuade someone to adopt Bitcoin as a reserve asset, educate someone… these are all constructive things. Destructive, dilutive, distractive things are: fight with random people 'cause they want to fight with you, attack the core network and make it confusing and introduce anxiety, and confusion and fear, uncertainty and doubt into the base layer. Right? And then attempt to imprint your ego, you know, on the base protocol, you know? Like, 'I gotta introduce this so my name will go down in history forever'." (2:38:55)

My view: it's understandable to want Bitcoin to behave like the granite under Manhattan (his analogy); a solid bedrock that never changes. Especially if you truly believe Bitcoin will take over the world as SoV-only and "there is no second best". But IMO this is wishful thinking. While I agree it's near-impossible for an alt to overtake Bitcoin, I do think adoption could stall.
Luckily, Bitcoin isn't really a natural element. It's spontaneous order, more like language. Hard to change and no one can dictate changes, but if market wants it to change, it can.
Furthermore, despite Stephan asking a few questions in that direction, Saylor mostly failed to distinguish between protocol upgrades and general software maintenance.
Arguing against any hard/soft forks is one thing, but Bitcoin Core 26.0 can obviously not last for centuries...
Having said that, Saylor is of course free to not upgrade anymore and stick to Bitcoin Core 26.0 for as long as he lives.
What is a 'protocol upgrade'?
What does 'general software maintenance' mean, and why is this needed?
What is the difference?
Can someone use a metaphor or use child language to explain this to me and any other feeling ignorant on this subject?
And please assume that all I know about computers is how to turn them on & off.
#asknostr #bitcoin #protocol #OG #developers #devs #generalsoftwaremaintenance #bitcoinsoftware #core #node
The core of the argument. would like an answer here aswell. Instead of the surface getting scratched and then hiding behind a no true Scotsman argument.
Well this is part of the question.
That said, the protocol in this context is how computers "speak Bitcoin' with each other. This inciudes Bitcoin's consensus rules, most notably: what makes a Bitcoin block valid. But there are other important protocol rules as well, like how transactions are sent over the network.
Basic maintance I would define as making sure the software keeps running. So this can include bug fixes, making sure the code remains compatible with other programs, etc.
This stuff isn't always black-and-white though, and to me it remains rather unclear where Saylor actually wants to draw the line in this regard. (I'd say the general sentiment of the interview however pretty strongly suggests a "just don't touch it" attitude.)
Okay, I was writing and listening and did best to edit my words to make sense.
It is still not clear to me on what changing things in the software is. This is running a node? Building a faster chip for node tech? And does this matter?
And does it matter that I do understand, seeing most the worlds population only uses all the different tech without understanding it?
That said, I’d like to grasp it somewhat so I can put my trust into the trustless.
Saylors now talking on "playing god and making decisions that effect hundreds of millions"
( I'm not quoting nostr:npub15dqlghlewk84wz3pkqqvzl2w2w36f97g89ljds8x6c094nlu02vqjllm5m direct words, but saying it as “I” understand his words)
I'm just past the hour now of the video and he's still making sense to me. Saying something like "a plane flies, that's the protocol, but now someone wants to introduce a new furniture for in the plane that makes the plain crash. Don't just do things because you believe it's a good idea, be patient, think and think again"
I will need such metaphors to understand answers to my prior question.
I think he and Craig would agree. I listened this while back and I feel that in this talk with Craig, some people are sounding rushed, moving with some panic vibe. Are these the developers?
And now listening saylor,
"we need to built somethings that will last a millennia, if we choose to touch the core think that far ahead. New people will arrive (or still need to be born) to work on it. Reflect on ones ego in wanting to "help", before you go change stuff. Go improve lightning layer 2,3,4,5, leave layer 1 alone"
He still makes sense to me, because my understanding was that bitcoin was untouchable if enough people used it and hash rate grows, but now I get I'm wrong? Why carry on investing in it instead of gold?
But then I hear anyone can built on it, so how can we stop whomever in the world wishes too?
So long people don't vote, update their software/node? If it's good it will happen. So am I just following a drama of nothing on nostr? Iran, Korea, Russia, India etc also have computer geniuses right.. I’m only in the English bubble here.
I would like to run a node but don't understand github and all the files, looked at tutorials. Its unsure to me I might f up my pc. And probably need a new one seeing this one is old old. I’ll wait till the tech geniuses build an easier to use one, or point me out to one that already exists.
There are many of me that know nothing of the tech. So those who do, we need to trust you don't do stupid things. Be mindful, move without fear. Patience!
Thanks for the effort🙏 . Anyone else willing to explain to me and other tech dinos my prior questions, feel welcome to try.
nostr:npub1qny3tkh0acurzla8x3zy4nhrjz5zd8l9sy9jys09umwng00manysew95gx nostr:npub15dqlghlewk84wz3pkqqvzl2w2w36f97g89ljds8x6c094nlu02vqjllm5m nostr:npub1sg6plzptd64u62a878hep2kev88swjh3tw00gjsfl8f237lmu63q0uf63m nostr:npub1cn4t4cd78nm900qc2hhqte5aa8c9njm6qkfzw95tszufwcwtcnsq7g3vle nostr:npub1excellx58e497gan6fcsdnseujkjm7ym5yp3m4rp0ud4j8ss39js2pn72a nostr:npub1a2cww4kn9wqte4ry70vyfwqyqvpswksna27rtxd8vty6c74era8sdcw83a
#bitcoin #asknostr # layer1 #techdino #drama #ego #fear #patience
I was referring to this video with Craig
https://primal.net/e/note1xdwjt64tzjvpjnfphm4k00tyrf0ayh9w6f9nhptvdjw8kz0ppvxq7skvwa
