Category: History

The Power To Print And Distribute Money Without A Central Power

Lorin Olsen

Cryptocurrency has been the rage ever since its introduction almost a decade ago. On October 31, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published his paper entitled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System“.  Since then, Bitcoin (and its enthusiasts and detractors) have been on a wild ride.

I won’t burden this article with a summary of Bitcoin’s history. [For a good summary of that, take a look here.] But one thing is clear: Bitcoin was designed to take power from the existing financial institutions and hopefully vest it into the hands of “the people”.

But its history has shown that the early Bitcoin “ecosystem” was just shifting power from banks and governments towards speculators and members of the tech intelligentsia. Exchanges like Mt. Gox appeared, thrived (for a time), and then were dis-empowered as everyone noticed that con artists were the real beneficiaries.

As blockchain technology has arisen (and matured), the notion of a decentralized ledger has belatedly emerged as the most lasting vestige of the original anti-establishment craze.  Everyone and their brother is now implementing blockchain technology. I even think that I saw a Blockchain slushee the last time that I went into a Quick-Trip. [Note: That actually makes some sense when you consider that convenience stores sell currency futures in the form of state-based lottery tickets.]

But the anti-establishment heritage of Bitcoin is now giving way to the centralized management of our government and corporate overlords. As banks and governments erect/impose management systems (i.e., barriers) around the blockchain infrastructure, you should be reminded of the example where governments are controlling access to waterways and irrigation systems. While the water is free, moving water through the dams and controlled waterways costs a whole lot of money. And the banks and governments happen to have a whole lot of money to use as they erect barriers against the vandals who are trying to overrun Rome.

Today, I ran across a really good thought piece about these very subjects. Medium just posted an article by Daniel Jeffries. In his article, Jeffries states, “The true power of cryptocurrencies is the power to print and distribute money without a central power.” And Jeffries is absolutely right. Of course, this means that cryptocurrency is an existential threat to the banks and to the state-supported central banks. Consequently, cryptocurrency has provoked their “immune response” mechanisms.

The outcome of this tension is not yet known. We might actually see decentralized capitalism emerge. Or we might see the stranglehold of financial institutions worsen. Finally, we might see governments further exercise their fiat power over money. This dance will end with either chaos or absolute control.

As for me, I’m hoping for something in between. And I hope that initiatives like Cicada will help to cement some of the really good seismic changes that can come out of cryptocurrency and the blockchain.

https://hackernoon.com/why-everyone-missed-the-most-mind-blowing-feature-of-cryptocurrency-860c3f25f1fb

Annus Mirabilis

Lorin Olsen


The UN has called 2005 the World Year of Physics (WYP). And for scientists and scientific historians, this year has been the 100-year anniversary of Einstein’s annus mirabilis – the year he submitted four papers, three of which are hallmarks of modern physics. In 1905, Albert Einstein submitted his papers on Brownian motion, the photoelectric effect and special relativity. With these papers, Einstein established himself as one of the greatest minds of his (or any) century.
The PBS program Nova will broadcast its Einstein’s Big Idea episode this Tuesday. In his September 27, 1905 paper (“Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon Its Energy Content?“), Einstein first documented m=e/c**2. I can’t fully describe how important Einstein’s works were. I would need to be a physicist, mathematician and poet. But as an enthusiast, I can only recommend that you watch the PBS special. I will be recording it – and probably downloading a recording from the web (via BitTorrent).
-CyclingRoo-

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"The World Is Flat"

Lorin Olsen

I just finished watching Thomas Friedman on the Sunday morning talk-a-thon. He was pitching his new book (The World Is Flat). As usual, Mr. Friedman talked about broad issues in compelling fashion.
While I haven’t read the book yet, I was struck by a few things that he said. First, he explained what the “flat world” is all about. He starts with a question. What will historians in 2020 say was the most influential event this century? Would it be the 9/11 terror attacks and their aftermath? Or would it be the globalization of the world? In his treatise, Friedman asserts that the Internet and interconnectivity have “flattened” the world. Today, it makes no difference whether you live in New York, Silicon Valley or Bangalore. If you are bright and connected, you can live anywhere. Indeed, the world is much more of a flat playing field. Today, we no longer compete with fellow Americans. We must squarely compete with talented and gifted people from around the globe.
Second, he noted that America is facing four key deficits.
1. The energy deficit
2. The education deficit
3. The budget deficit
4. The “ambition” deficit
When I heard this, I readily understood and heartily agreed with the first three issues. But I wasn’t certain what Mr. Friedman meant with his fourth point. The moderator stepped in and asked what I was thinking. What is the “ambition” deficit? Mr. Friedman called it the “Olympic basketball deficit.” The U.S. team went to the Olympics believing that it was the most talented team in the world. And rather than work hard and strive for excellence, the team displayed an apparent attitude of entitlement. Well, as we all know, we were lucky to earn a bronze medal.
Whether intentional or not, this illustration struck a resonating chord with me. All around me, I see people that believe they are entitled to the grand things that they possess. They act as if these things are deserved rather than earned. And, truth be told, I must say that my own “thoughts and deeds” often demonstrate this attitude of entitlement. God forgive me when I have accepted your blessings and made them my entitlements. May I (and this nation) once again return to a place of thankfulness. And may I also remember that I must strive for greatness, not expect it to arrive at my doorstep.
-CyclingRoo-

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“The World Is Flat”

Lorin Olsen

I just finished watching Thomas Friedman on the Sunday morning talk-a-thon. He was pitching his new book (The World Is Flat). As usual, Mr. Friedman talked about broad issues in compelling fashion.

While I haven’t read the book yet, I was struck by a few things that he said. First, he explained what the “flat world” is all about. He starts with a question. What will historians in 2020 say was the most influential event this century? Would it be the 9/11 terror attacks and their aftermath? Or would it be the globalization of the world? In his treatise, Friedman asserts that the Internet and interconnectivity have “flattened” the world. Today, it makes no difference whether you live in New York, Silicon Valley or Bangalore. If you are bright and connected, you can live anywhere. Indeed, the world is much more of a flat playing field. Today, we no longer compete with fellow Americans. We must squarely compete with talented and gifted people from around the globe.

Second, he noted that America is facing four key deficits.

1. The energy deficit
2. The education deficit
3. The budget deficit
4. The “ambition” deficit

When I heard this, I readily understood and heartily agreed with the first three issues. But I wasn’t certain what Mr. Friedman meant with his fourth point. The moderator stepped in and asked what I was thinking. What is the “ambition” deficit? Mr. Friedman called it the “Olympic basketball deficit.” The U.S. team went to the Olympics believing that it was the most talented team in the world. And rather than work hard and strive for excellence, the team displayed an apparent attitude of entitlement. Well, as we all know, we were lucky to earn a bronze medal.

Whether intentional or not, this illustration struck a resonating chord with me. All around me, I see people that believe they are entitled to the grand things that they possess. They act as if these things are deserved rather than earned. And, truth be told, I must say that my own “thoughts and deeds” often demonstrate this attitude of entitlement. God forgive me when I have accepted your blessings and made them my entitlements. May I (and this nation) once again return to a place of thankfulness. And may I also remember that I must strive for greatness, not expect it to arrive at my doorstep.

-CyclingRoo-

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