From: Lucian Mogosanu Date: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 15:53:24 +0000 (+0300) Subject: posts: 01f X-Git-Tag: v0.4~24 X-Git-Url: https://git.mogosanu.ro/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=0d239fe3deadf19ecb80aeb4d6a69b31def80fa3;p=thetarpit.git posts: 01f --- diff --git a/posts/y00/01f-bitcoin-as-infrastructure-i.markdown b/posts/y00/01f-bitcoin-as-infrastructure-i.markdown new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6ad6fbe --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/y00/01f-bitcoin-as-infrastructure-i.markdown @@ -0,0 +1,109 @@ +--- +postid: 01f +title: Bitcoin as infrastructure [i] +excerpt: In which I argue that Bitcoin is more fundamental than mere currency. +date: April 27, 2014 +author: Lucian Mogoșanu +tags: cogitatio +--- + +This started out as an illustration of how (rather interesting) applications +could in theory be built on top of Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in general. At +some point into my train of thought, however, I decided that painting a bigger +picture of the subject is desirable, if not necessary. I personally deem it +necessary, as it will hopefully clarify some points on a concept that is yet +so poorly understood. + +Before beginning the incursion, I must warn the reader that the problem of +money, or resources in general, is beyond the scope of this essay. I'm an +engineer, not an economist, nor a finance expert. Nor am I a connoisseur of +Bitcoin, for that matter, but only a lost soul wandering in the dark, finding +questions to answers never posed. + +## Part I: Introduction and recurring patterns in human history + +In a [previous post][1] I (only) mentioned how we humans don't seem to fully +grasp the underlying mechanisms behind social bonds. The abstract concept of +"network" predates human existence, in fact it predates animal existence and +life itself: physical and chemical bonds are probably the first examples of +graphs on our Universe's timeline, at least as far as our current knowledge +can tell. + +Graphs are themselves structures, describable using sets[^1] and pairs. +However, even simple structures such as directed graphs are not enough to +describe physical and chemical phenomena (for example, those involving +energy), although some phenomena may be (possibly) unified under simple, +abstract structures such as categories. But I digress. + +These network-like stuctures repeat themselves at the macroscopic level: +biologists like to study the so-called "swarm intelligence" of ant colonies +and bee swarms, observe organizational patterns and how they evolve. This is +no less true for humans: throughout history, we competed and cooperated, we +explored, exterminated or on the contrary, created new relationships and +merged. In many of these events, structure, or infrastructure, has played +a major role. + +For a long time, the biggest hurdle in the way of human social or inter-social +bonds was physical, or more precisely geographical in nature. The Vikings were +such a great people mostly due to their proficiency as seafarers. Babylonians +and Greeks were great cartographers, this being a necessity to find the +shortest, or the "right" path from one geographical point to another. Finally, +the Romans were renowned for their roads and bridges, infrastructure proven to +be essential for communications and trade and implicitly for the well-being of +Rome. Indeed, this is probably one of the first examples of engineering-driven +development in human history. + +We can easily see how structure, or infrastructure, has influenced major +events in history. One such series of events, depicted on a monument known as +Trajan's Column, were Trajan's wars[^2] on Decebalus' Dacia: to cross the +Danube and invade Dacia, the Emperor hired an engineer known as Apollodorus to +quickly build what became an important piece of engineering and architecture. +Later on Trajan's successor dismantled the bridge to keep the Empire safe from +the barbarian invasion. + +Another interesting series of events, which I will only briefly remind, are +the explorations which led to the colonization of the two American continents. +These explorations were mainly driven by the rise of the Ottoman Empire in +Anatolia and Eastern Europe: the Ottoman Türks being muslim and all, they +weren't particularly friendly to Christians. Unfortunately, they also came to +occupy a segment of the trade route between Europe and Asia known as the Silk +Road. Now, some seafaring Spanish and Portugese explorers were now sure that +the Earth must be round, so they went West hoping that they'd reach Asia if +they travelled long enough. Much to their surprise, the Indies they reached +were not the silk-rich Indies they had expected, which is why some of them +decided to slaughter the American natives. But again, I digress. + +Now we can fast-forward to the modern Industrial Revolution, when horses were +complemented by engines and roads by railroads. Thus the communication latency +turned from days to hours, and then to minutes after the invention of the +electrical telegraph. Of course, the telegraph itself contributed to railway +development, as most early telegraphs were built alongside railroads for +signaling purposes. + +I have one last seemingly unrelated remark, which will lead us into the next +part of this essay: one of the main challenges in telegraphy consisted of +finding a reliable alphabet to encode electrical signals. Many of these +encodings, including the standard Morse code, were binary. This had an impact +not only in engineering, but also in the science of the 20th century. + +**Next**: The fractal nature of computing infrastructure + +[^1]: Admittedly, sets are one of the cornerstones of mathematics; this +discussion, like any other, can only remain precise in the framework of +mathematics. Alas, this is not entirely possible, but I can at least try to +hold on to this path as much as possible. + +[^2]: One who's missed their history classes might feel inclined to believe +that I am biased and suffering of [dumb nationalism][2] for calling the Dacian +Wars a "major series of events". They were indeed quite an important turning +point in Roman history, for at least two or three reasons. Firstly, both +Burebista (one of Decebalus' predecessors) and Decebalus himself were meddlers +into the internal affairs of the Roman Empire, and they both sided with the +losing party, which made them enemies of the Empire. Secondly, the Getae and +Dacian tribes, reunited under Decebalus, made frequent raids into Roman +provinces, which caused a lot of trouble. Thirdly, Romans found an important +source of gold in the new Roman province called Dacia Traiana. Finally, the +monument itself stands as evidence to the battle's importance. + +[1]: /posts/y00/017-the-mechanics-of-socialism.html#fn1 +[2]: /posts/y00/00b-romania-s-dumb-nationalism.html