diff options
Diffstat (limited to '.md/thoughts')
4 files changed, 224 insertions, 23 deletions
diff --git a/.md/thoughts/net/the-web30-people-kinda-scare-me-a-little.md b/.md/thoughts/net/the-web30-people-kinda-scare-me-a-little.md index e69de29..3424f96 100644 --- a/.md/thoughts/net/the-web30-people-kinda-scare-me-a-little.md +++ b/.md/thoughts/net/the-web30-people-kinda-scare-me-a-little.md @@ -0,0 +1,163 @@ +*Note: this article discusses web 3.0 in the context I originally +understood it, which I now understand was coined by [Gavin +Wood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web3). I have no understanding of, +or interest in Tim Berners-Lee's concept of the +[Semantic Web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_Web)* + +## We are all Satoshi + +Satoshi Nakamoto committed the first block to a blockchain with: "The +Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks." A +technology born in global financial crisis, known only among a group of +people who liked to call themselves the "cypherpunks, Bitcoin--and the +blockchain concept on which is was based--was a technology born from +political turmoil and couldn't be anything but a political statement. + +What was that statement exactly? + +If you read the Bitcoin white paper, and I highly recommend you do since +it's probably one of the best-written research papers in recent memory, +the impression you get is somewhere between utilitarianism and utopia. +Freedom and psuedonymity achieved through the mathematically perfect +organization of cryptography. + +Without trying to re-write the white paper, the core concept can be +described very simply. Say you have a network of random schmoes with +computers (some people call this the "Internet," but let's not get hung +up on jargon). You can organize these people into three main camps: +miners, nodes, and buyers. The nodes all keep a record of all +transactions ever made on the Bitcoin network. The miners, using +cryptography (and therefore CPU power), check these nodes to make sure +they're all accurate and up to date. The first miner that checks a full +set of transactions wins the Bitcoin. The people with the Bitcoin serve +kind of like a mint, distributing the currency to user's wallets in +exchange for pizza, illegal drugs, but most usually: cash. The buyers +ultimately provide the value of Bitcoin and make transactions with it +for the nodes to update, the miners to check and so on. + +The best part of all this, is that unlike traditional digital payment +like credit cards or Paypal: no corporation needs to do the bookeeping. +Instead, any volunteer with an internet connection can store and serve +their own copy of the book, the record of transactions Satoshi calls a +blockchain. The idea comes directly from torrenting, where anyone with +a link to the torrent can download a file from potentially thousands of +others who are also serving (or seeding) the file. + +There is a world that Bitcoin needs for all this to operate in a neat +way. Bitcoin demands a society of volunteers for it's book-keeping, a +gathering of self-starters for it's mining and maintenance (preferably +ones that don't track or scam people), and something like a national +myth--a belief that you have *something*, and that *something* has worth. + +But the world that's come out of it, seems far off from that ideal to +me. + +## We are the Web 3.0 people + +I imagine anyone reading this who happens to be part of crypto start up +is either seething with rage at how little detail I went into or is +completely unaware of any of that history. They also might snipe that +Bitcoin is irrelevant nowadays. Bitcoin is becoming something +of a "boomer" cryptocurrency now that some feel has seen better days in +spite of the booming price. But that's all it is--an imperfect software +hijacked into a get-rich-quick-scheme. Prophetically they hint that +something bigger is coming. + +If Web 1.0 was a littering of static content left by bored users and +Web 2.0 made the pictures move with your mouse to lull us all into +surveillance capitalism, Web 3.0, to it's proponents, is the light at +the end of the tunnel that will replace all those tyrannical centralized +software corps with user-owned and user-operated *de*centralized means +of communicating and commerce. To the libertarian: it's the end of the +Fed, the end of big government crony capitalism, and something like the +start of *Wealth of Nations*. To the marxist: it's the working class +owning entirely the means of commerce on the Internet organized +bureaucratically as open-source projects tend to become. + +Gavin Wood, the coiner of the term Web 3.0 as I understand it, had this +to say back in 2014: + +``` +WIRED: What's your handy elevator definition of Web3? + +“Less trust, more truth.” + +WIRED: What does “less trust” mean? + +I have a particular meaning of trust that’s essentially faith. It's the +belief that something will happen, that the world will work in a certain +way, without any real evidence or rational arguments as to why it will +do that. So we want less of that, and we want more truth--which what I +really mean is a greater reason to believe that our expectations will be +met. + +WIRED: It sounds like you're saying "less blind faith, more credible +trustworthiness." + +Yes and no. I think trust in itself is actually just a bad thing all +around. Trust implies that you are you're placing some sort of authority +in somebody else, or in some organization, and they will be able to use +this authority in some arbitrary way. As soon as it becomes credible +trust, it's not really trust anymore. There is a mechanism, a +rationale, an argument, a logical mechanism--whatever--but in my mind, +it's not trust. +``` + +On the surface there's no way this doesn't seem wonderful. There are few +people I imagine who would argue that blind-faith in authority is a good +thing. And to our inner anarchist: should *anyone* really rule over us +anyway. + +But I don't question the idealism of the Web 3.0 people, or that they +really believe they are making the world a freer more efficient place. +What I question is: does blockchain technology, as described by +Nakamoto and as expanded on by many others, actually achieve these +ends? And will the people at large, who ultimately are left the task to +run this Web 3.0 as volunteers, actually fall in line with the ideal the +software developers see so clearly expressed in code. + +## We do not forgive. We do not forget. + +### China's Social Credit System + +### The digital dollar + +### A data mining society + +Many of the Web 3.0 people would agree with the often quoted point +against social media companies: "we own our data so they should pay +us." The sentiment fits perfectly into the Web 3.0 agenda. Enter +steemit, a crypto-powered Twitter/Facebook like web front where you can +write articles, make articles, like other's work, and get paid for it +all! ... + +Brave is attempting a similar kind of project with their Basic Attention +Token (BAT), which rewards users of the browser for watching sponsored +ads. ... + +## We would like you to play + +At the core of the ideology of Web 3.0, I can't help but feel a strong +urge--particularly from software-minded people--to gamify society. Write +the article to get your coins. Read the book to gain XP. Gain XP to get +more visibility for your articles, and get even more coins. + +## We will all be Satoshi + +The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, a name intentionally chosen since it +is parallel to the English "John Doe," is still unknown as of this +writing. But Wikipedia has a surprisingly complete set of references on +what we *do* know. + +... + +Most interesting to me is the case of Len Sassaman, which I caught in +earlier revisions of the article, but was removed due to lack of a +source. + +## Do we want this? + +## References + +1. https://www.wired.com/story/web3-gavin-wood-interview/ +2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Nakamoto#Possible_identities diff --git a/.md/thoughts/society/as-a-conservatively-liberal-fascist-anarchist.md b/.md/thoughts/society/as-a-conservatively-liberal-fascist-anarchist.md index 3749b95..0577aa6 100644 --- a/.md/thoughts/society/as-a-conservatively-liberal-fascist-anarchist.md +++ b/.md/thoughts/society/as-a-conservatively-liberal-fascist-anarchist.md @@ -15,4 +15,25 @@ ### Fascists Even worse the never-ending sects of sects of the modern left is -the empty category of fascism, which even Orwell in 195X bemoaned:
\ No newline at end of file +the empty category of fascism, which even Orwell in 195X bemoaned: + +## Synthesis + +I see no contradiction between these streams of thought as they all +operate within me in the following way: + +- I am a liberal as I believe in freedom of action of the individual, + and I see no reason to deny anyone their own happiness (or pleasure) + unless it harms it another. People are generally all capable all + things held equal and we should strive to assist the less capable and + less fortunate. +- I am a conservative since I see no reason to subvert or abandon most + of the social structures we've created over time: including family, + local community, and the sense of citizenship (to both nation and to + the world). Tradition and ritual has it's place in the world, even if + the ways we indulge in those past times change. +- I am an anarchist as I believe no one rules above me and there is no + need to preserve any social or government structure that cannot + justify itself. Without governing yourself, you can't talk about + governing the rest of the world. +- I am a fascist in diff --git a/.md/thoughts/syntax/my-worst-habit.md b/.md/thoughts/syntax/my-worst-habit.md index 2f760e1..ab89ddf 100644 --- a/.md/thoughts/syntax/my-worst-habit.md +++ b/.md/thoughts/syntax/my-worst-habit.md @@ -39,18 +39,26 @@ men take these noxious substances and go into convulsive states. Their twitchings and mutterings are thought to have prophetic significance.") ``` -This is the only example I know that dares to put parentheses within -parentheses, unless we're counting math textbooks. In a way it works, -since if information is ever *superfluous*, the history of sailors -getting high on nutmeg fits that bill. An academic reader might easily -pick up on that, but to everyone else, I think a full paragraph of text -in parentheses signals the reader to scroll down in the hopes that the -story continues. +This is the only example I know that dares to put parentheses *and* a +long quote within parentheses, unless we're counting math textbooks. +In a way it works, since if information is ever *superfluous*, the +history of sailors getting high on nutmeg fits that bill. A careful +reader might easily pick up on that, but to everyone else, I think a +full paragraph of text in parentheses signals the reader to scroll +down in the hopes that the story continues. But just in case you think I'm just picking on William S. -Burroughs, here's an example I regrettably wrote to a ... recently: +Burroughs, here's an example I regrettably wrote to a coworker +recently with some details removed: -... +``` +[...] As a precaution, I did review $NOBODY's recent +$THING_I_WAS_ASKED_TO_REVIEW (if you would like a detailed report on +that, I can pull that together for you). +``` + +Somehow, I managed to take the *one* point worth emphasizing (an entire +sentence at that!) and *de*-emphasized it. It's a habit I can't break. So please, if you are a caring reader, do complain when I overuse parentheses. I deserve it. diff --git a/.md/thoughts/syntax/random-python-idiosyncrasies.md b/.md/thoughts/syntax/random-python-idiosyncrasies.md index be3f1f8..22e9e25 100644 --- a/.md/thoughts/syntax/random-python-idiosyncrasies.md +++ b/.md/thoughts/syntax/random-python-idiosyncrasies.md @@ -1,16 +1,24 @@ # Coding Style Guide The purpose of this document is twofold: + 1) To ensure that anyone who might like to make my code better understands - why I write python the way I do -2) to ensure *I* adhere to my own style because I'm terribly inconsistent + why I write python the way I do +2) To ensure *I* adhere to my own style because I'm terribly inconsistent Being terribly inconsistent, the guidelines are not set in stone and if you have a good argument for doing things a particular, I don't really care. *BUT* first and foremost, *code must comply with PEP8 first*. This is easy -to automate. I like coala since it's friendly but there' plenty of advanced -linters out there. +to automate. I like [black](https://pypi.org/project/black/) since it's +easy to use but there' plenty of advanced linters out there. + +I usually invoke it like this to turn off forcing double quotes and +force the line length to 72: + +```bash +black -S -l 72 file.py +``` That aside, I have the following idiosyncracies: @@ -21,7 +29,7 @@ why not? Like so: -```code +```python string = "This is a phrase" word = "word" cur_char = 'a' @@ -33,7 +41,7 @@ dictionary = { 'key' "1245dqw3w431", 'return': newline } The only exception is for strings with quotes in them (anything to avoid escapes, really) -```code +```python quoted_string = ( '"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take - Wayne Gretsky"' ' - Michael Scott' @@ -45,7 +53,8 @@ That brings me to my next point. ## 2) Long strings belong in parentheses As in: -```code + +```python longboi = ( "This is a really long string usefull when making help menus. Be\n" "sure to leave s space at the end of each line, or add a new line\n" @@ -55,7 +64,7 @@ longboi = ( ) ``` -## 3) Tabs are four spaces and spaces are *ALWAYS* prefered to tabs +## 3) Tabs are four spaces and spaces are *ALWAYS* preferred to tabs Again, see PEP8. @@ -63,19 +72,19 @@ Again, see PEP8. It's a pain to read: -```code +```python 1/(2*sqrt(pi))*exp(x**2) ``` Do this -```code +```python 1 / (2 * sqrt(pi)) * exp(x ** 2) ``` The same goes for logic operators -```code +```python true & false ^ true ``` @@ -85,7 +94,7 @@ This is python. Unless there's a compatibility thing (like a library's code was written that way, or it matches an API variable), snake_case is preferred. -```code +```python user_input = int(input()) # variable MAX_INPUT = 1000 # constant def judge_input(_input, _max): # function @@ -99,7 +108,7 @@ class Input_Judger: # a class Example exception: -```code +```python # this doesn't actually work, but you get the idea r = requests.get("www.debian.org") pageSize = r.json()['pageSize'] # camel case ok |