Bitcoin and Nostr Were Necessary Prerequisites for The Sci-Fi Idea of Cyberspace to Become Real
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author: arkinox #BuildOnBitcoin
Discussion
\> idealized metaverse or cyberspace worlds that Meta and the like want to build are nothing more than a drug used to extract resources from miserable VR-goggled souls
their version of metaverse reminds me how people were in WALL-E, so the [consensual](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/14638-cyberspace-a-consensual-hallucination-experienced-daily-by-billions-of-legitimate) part is key to this. how do you plan on making it a place to be productive? could you expand on this a bit more?
Hello! Thanks for the great question. I won't pretend that I have all the answers but I'll do my best.
I see cyberspace as a tool just like your texting app or lightning wallet; it is a communication medium with certain properties. People can leverage this tool however they like, whether it is for interaction, finding an audience, commerce, donations, finding ideas, sharing ideas, building more tools, etc. I do not know how people will use it, just like we don't know (or can't fully predict) how people will use nostr or lightning or even bitcoin.
Take bitcoin for example. Nobody knew that lightning would eventually be built on top of it and allow for so many more things to be done. Lightning isn't even just micropayments. It allows for new kinds of apps, identity management, communication, etc. Cyberspace could be to nostr what lightning is to bitcoin: a new development on top of a solid decentralized protocol that enables new uses.
I don't think it's healthy or desirable to create something that makes people want to wear a VR headset for the rest of their lives. That's not the goal. Realistically, I see people using ONOSENDAI like they use a web browser. For a few minutes or a few hours. Find something quick or browse for a while. Whatever makes sense for their use case. What really matters is that they are getting something of value out of it.
Cyberspace is a new way of allocating digital 3D space to decentralized entities. I don't know how people will or won't use it, but that doesn't really matter to me. If we create useful tools, people will find ways to use them, and cyberspace will become whatever it needs to become.
I think the important innovation here is that we now have a decentralized way of allocating a finite amount of digital space in a permissionless way. The space is 2^85 cubed, which is massive, but it is finite.
Looking at things from a new point of view can change how we think and give us new ideas. It helps us innovate. Cyberspace is a new point of view for nostr, and nostr is the new decentralized communication protocol of the web. Even if people never ultimately find a use for cyberspace beyond novelty, I will be happy that at least we gave it a go and helped people see things in a new way. But I have this feeling deep down that nostr protocol's strengths are so massive and important that humans do not yet understand or appreciate them fully, and the same can be said for bitcoin. If you build something like cyberspace on top of something so powerful, who can predict what happens next?
