Softwar
Setting out to read #Softwar cover to cover, wish me luck. To anyone who has read it, I would like to hear your conclusions. #bookstr
Discussion
Cool theory. Falls apart at practical application.
I don’t think you can use Bitcoin’s security to defend something in cyberspace other than bitcoin.
CC: nostr:npub1xd2e3jh0fxcmg5czagqks44g2ma02evguls4lmgrcj25ewzr6znshljr9c since he has a countering opinion.
Sounds like the practical application he could be getting at is nation-states dominating the network 🤮
Non-zero chance of that happening but not for a long time and not without fierce resistance.
I think it's possible he doesn't want that to happen but welcomes the "attack" because he believes Bitcoin can withstand it. 5D chess move
I haven't read the whole book, just fragments m, but I've watch interviews with the guy, and I think what he's talking about is defending a nation's wealth by putting it onto the Bitcoin network. But I think he means "nation" as in the aggregate of the citizens and institutions, not merely the State.
I could see some merit to that idea
Yes, it makes sense because in a war, enemies attack each other's national wealth, not just the State's. So defense acts the same way. Ever since the Westphalian system was put in place in the 17th century, the organization in charge of war and defense has been the State, and increasingly so since 1914. But with something like Bitcoin, perhaps we can take that immense power back and give it back to the actual Nation, to a certain degree.
Good luck, it rambles on quite a bit - could only get myself to skim through it. The main thesis is pretty unconvincing to me, but the book does bring up a lot of interesting concepts that got me thinking, so I found some value in it.
That dude got sim swapped.
My takeaway was that the fundamental principle behind Bitcoin's success is its power projection capabilities. Bitcoin is itself the practical application of power projection I/F/T cyberspace. Its use is in microscale softwar among individuals to ensure honest transactions.
Can you still buy the book? I thought MIT was supposed to make his thesis puplic, but I can't find it. Makes me wonder.....
Reading comments with a smile
Main takeaways.
1. Bitcoin is literally the most efficient and most powerful form of power projection, even more so than nuclear bombs. The amount if power (watts) delivered by a nuclear bomb can only be scaled so high before it becomes impractical in terms of lives lost and destruction (mutually assured destruction). Where as Bitcoin can theoretically scale infinitely in the amount of power it is projecting.
2. All animals including and especially humans have to use physical power to determine their intraspecies pecking order. Their is no substitute for physical power competition for establishing our pecking order in a systemically secure way.
3. All animals have strong instinctual urges to avoid intraspecies fratricide. Bitcoin gives humanity a way to compete using a theoretically infinitely scalable amount of physical power over the Bitcoin protocol and it's highly valuable underlying resource. This suggests that humanity can maximize both safety and security simultaneously by using electronic digital antlers to compete and settle their nation state level disputes while at the same time they are scaling the amount of physical power (watts) they are mutually benefiting from the increased security of the protocol. Ensuring the freedom of information flow across cyberspace.
4. Instead of a nation adopting a policy of mutually assured destruction to decrease their BCRa which inevitably results in a bounded prosperity trap, they adopt a policy of mutually assured preservation to decrease their BCRa, that results in a united pack of power projectors and an infinitely prosperous organization.
Where did you get your copy?