The apocalyptic impulse keeps popping up again and again in Silicon Valley (remember the Singularity?) and shows the true contempt the tech elite has for institutions and democracy. Step 1 is always to sweep away the old and do a ground-up rewrite of society
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Pinboard Retweeted Jody Shenn
This is a great accelerationist point! The only practical achievement of cryptocurrency in its 13 years of existence has been to make ransomware a tenable industrial pursuithttps://twitter.com/JodyShenn/status/1392196349291110407 …
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Step 1: create an alternative form of money to do all the crime Step 2: crime causes systemic collapse Step 3: everything works out somehow
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Pinboard Retweeted
Another excellent point. There is a general phenomenon of flattening going on, where people can't understand that there is a massive distance between mild social dysfunction and some Max Max existence, or between an authoritarian turn and full-on fascism. https://twitter.com/ParetoOptimizer/status/1392196314969083907 …
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We'd all be better off if the tech industry were led by a country like Argentina or Lebanon, that has in its recent history experienced points all along this spectrum and as a result has a lot more chill. Instead people are panicking over a line at a gas station.
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Pinboard Retweeted Alex Gladstein
Yes, Bitcoin is a powerful human rights tool to defend against authoritarianism and kleptocracy. That explains why 2/3 of this decentralized freedom currency is mined in China, with more than half of that just in Xinjiang—they need it there the most!https://twitter.com/gladstein/status/1392205251625639938 …
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Alex GladsteinVerified account @gladsteinReplying to @PinboardThe “tech elite” doesn’t control Bitcoin. It’s neutral, open, borderless technology with no special rules for the rich. It is a powerful human rights tool to defend against authoritarianism + kleptocracy. Anyone w/ internet can access it today. Ultimately it threatens the elite.9 replies 57 retweets 263 likesShow this thread -
Correction: I said China mines 2/3 of Bitcoin; the correct figure is in fact 3/4, according to a study out last month. Pinboard regrets the error. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22256-3.pdf …pic.twitter.com/3bASxFiBYh
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Pinboard Retweeted
In fairness to
@balajis, I have to concede his point that crypto doesn't require the internet. Bitcoin has an adaptive difficulty parameter that (after the bombs fall) will drop until it becomes profitable to hash with goose quills by candlelight https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1392197512568578048 …Pinboard added,
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Here's the context for this thread, since the VC I was responding to couldn't handle some mild zingers about his toy money:pic.twitter.com/XNq1DGBFHs
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