Each week, I compile the most useful links to articles, posts, and videos that helped me to level up my knowledge of Bitcoin, cryptos, blockchain, and levelling up in life.
I feel like I've been obsessing on blockchain and crypto projects for the last couple weeks -- delving into books (I'll talk about later), listening to loads of podcasts, and trying to keep up with posts on Steemit & Twitter. Plus a local meetup I started is sparking new ideas that I just can't stop thinking about. And always trying to sort out the good information from the bad. I'm officially overloaded and will be taking the weekend to disconnect from all tech, crypto, and blockchain studies. Time to allows some space for consolidation.
On to the picks:
- Technology & Choice #25, Exploring Value and Exchange with Adam B. Levine, or “Proof Of WHAT?”: A great, meandering discussion. Listen for the stretch where they discuss what is "value". It's a critically nebulous concept when we're discussing currencies. Could it be that it's all just a belief? (I tend to think so.) There's another great stretch where Adam goes into some of the downstream complications of rolling out blockchains to big enterprises (corporations) ... food for thought when we try to measure how long we expect blockchain to work its way into the wider business world. It also supports the idea that sometimes it's easier to do it all over with an agile start up than trying to re-work all the business processes in an industry.
- Unchained: Vitalik Buterin, Creator Of Ethereum, On The Big Guy Vs. The Little Guy: A recent, quality interview with Vitalik and where he sees things right now -- and some predictions for 2018.
- Bitcoin & Blockchain Reading List: A insanely deep and ambitious reading list to work my way through. I've read maybe 5%. Time to level up!
- The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto (Timothy C. May): Tim May's short, incisive, visionary manifesto first handed out at a crypto conference in 1988.
The State will of course try to slow or halt the spread of this technology, citing national security concerns, use of the technology by drug dealers and tax evaders, and fears of societal disintegration. Many of these concerns will be valid; crypto anarchy will allow national secrets to be trade freely and will allow illicit and stolen materials to be traded. An anonymous computerized market will even make possible abhorrent markets for assassinations and extortion. Various criminal and foreign elements will be active users of CryptoNet. But this will not halt the spread of crypto anarchy.
Just as the technology of printing altered and reduced the power of medieval guilds and the social power structure, so too will cryptologic methods fundamentally alter the nature of corporations and of government interference in economic transactions. Combined with emerging information markets, crypto anarchy will create a liquid market for any and all material which can be put into words and pictures.
- Naval Ravikant Periscope Livestream: Naval Ravikant is a voice of wisdom over blockchain -- not into talking prices, not into hot picks, but committed to learning the big picture of what blockchain and crypto have to offer the world. In his first Periscope livestream, he fields a ton of question from folks across technology, blockchain/cryptos, and general mindfulness. Here's a Tweetstorm of Naval's talk that someone Anand Venkateswaran paraphrased.
- Let's Talk Bitcoin #352: Lightning in Real Life: In this podcast, Andreas Antonopoulos sets Adam Levine straight on misconceptions surrounding the Lightning Network. Cleared up a lot of cobwebs I had about LN and gave me a glimpse of the future (wallets that seamlessly handle opening/closing payment channels). Andreas also specifically addresses the rumors floating aroung that big banks will use LN to centralize Bitcoin. Oh, and in case you haven't heard: Blockstream released a website with a Woo Commerce plugin for Wordpress that works with Lightning Network -- so if you know how to run your own wallet, node, and Lightning node, you just might be able to buy a t-shirt or sticker. ⚡️
