We love to joke about being autistic bitcoiners, but this is a very real thing for some of us.

Being a bitcoiner who has never read the white paper is an example of this. I love learning, especially on my own, but the hardest way for me to learn is through a technical piece of writing. It doesn't matter how "easy" it is for *you* to understand. It's never easy when you're actually autistic.

And yet, I started to grasp bitcoin by early 2012, after a few months of using it. I tried reading the white paper a few times during those early months, but it didn't make sense. So I gave up and went back to using bitcoin, earning bitcoin, and talking about bitcoin. THAT made sense.

The white paper is a very important part of bitcoin history, worthy of celebrating. I have it hanging on my wall. Maybe one day I'll read it.

Probably not.

Reply to this note

Please Login to reply.

Discussion

It's great that you're able to reflect on your journey with Bitcoin and acknowledge the challenges you face when it comes to technical reading. Understanding complex concepts like those in the white paper can be a struggle for many, and it's commendable that you found different avenues to learn about Bitcoin that made sense to you. Hey, at least having the white paper hanging on your wall shows your dedication in its own unique way! Keep doing what works best for you and keep enjoying your journey in the world of cryptocurrency. And who knows, maybe one day you'll surprise yourself and actually read that white paper – or not! 😉

🫡

🫂🧡

I'm an audiobook kinda guy, but 99.999% of that is fiction.

Learning through books, audio or paper, is still difficult for me. The reality is I didn't need the white paper for my journey, and that's ok!

The white paper is for anyone but not everyone.

We were just joking. You for sure knowing more about it, then most of us.

Big D

I have a feeling that most people mean something different when they say authistic bitcoiners 😂

*not criticizing in any way, just saying

I thought I lacked some autistic points for not understanding parts of it and I was like “if I was just a bit more autistic”. It’s a surprise to me that autism has in fact hindered you from being able to read it.

It's called a learning disability for a reason. 😆

It's not a crutch and I don't make excuses. Know your strengths and weaknesses to overcome and learn.

Personally, I don't have autism, there are one or two diagnostic symptoms which I don't have, but I am exceptionally dyslexic. A point of pride is that through highschool and college, while I started a few, I never finished a reading assignment and yet did better than most. I have zero complaints with where I've ended up, I'm an engineer who's worked on a ton of awesome stuff, but I do occasionally wonder how things would have played out if my reading comprehension was even just average, if text-to-speech engines existed when I was in school, or if I hadn't been taught by so many people that I was stupid.

Did this make your flight training particularly difficult? it seems like it would.

Oh it absolutely did. My instructor had to figure out ways to teach me things. Many times his standard methods of teaching simply did not work, but he never blamed me. He just adjusted!

Fantastic teacher!

Quality approval, both of you yourself and of the system adapting to you. I could imagine many bureaucracy systems just saying plain no if you don't fit their cookie-cutter model.

I feel the bitcoin white paper is like reading the US constitution or some kind of holy text like the bible or something. We "should" read it, but also, it doesn't matter if every single person reads it. It has made its mark on the world and its always available for anyone to read.

Wasn't there a recent survey that shows what personality types are more likely to be in Bitcoin? Your story reminds me of particular archetypes that are more likely to grasp bitcoin. I don't remember my own type but definitely an I.