vitalik: an ethereum story
“Vitalik: An Ethereum Story” // Teaser [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfPx3S6sPJE]:
vitalik buterin.. vitalik on /acc ness.. vitalik on network sovereignties.. vitalik on degen communism.. et al
v: why is everyone listening me.. i’m just a guy
(?): they’re saying this is the way the internet was meant to be because no one can control it
(?): we’re building infra that the whole world can enjoy.. this internet garden
if only.. still to many red flags/cancerous distractions for it to be for everybody.. for it to be garden-enough
tim o reilly: techs very rarely stay the same as they are envisioned by their creators
tim berners-lee.. berners-lee everyone law et al
(?): it’s this next level of coordination for humanity
perhaps iteration of same song.. but not legit new/diff/free if still any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do
ff
via tweet [https://x.com/wor/status/1949727995381370929]:
Watching The Vitalik File: An Ethereum Story is a glimpse into the future of *how we coordinate as communities. It reveals the origins of a trust infrastructure that enables memory, authentication, and execution of agreements across networks .. precisely the type of architecture commitment pooling can be expressed into. https://imdb.com/title/tt32829698/
*if we want to perpetuate same song.. ooof..
if want legit diff/free.. the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
watch this movie and lemme know what you think
ok.. probably an earful coming your way
i watched it free on youtube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUqku2o3pzY]
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notes/quotes from 86 min doc [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUqku2o3pzY]:
1 min – he’s become something like the philosopher king of crypto and tech broadly defined.. inventor of ethereum
ethereum et al
2 min – bitcoin can be digital money but ethereum can be digital infra.. it can be a binding structure of how people cooperate online
but would legit free people want binding ness? would they want how-to-cooperate ness..?
eth can disrupt tech by giving power to internet users rather than platforms
ethereum has made vitalik a billionaire.. and iconic figurehead
if he is in for the ideal rather than the money.. they he would want to try a sabbatical ish transition
he has massively moved forward history.. may redefine all digital transactions in the 21st cent
move-forward/redefine.. perhaps.. but not change.. not legit diff/free.. we’re still practicing/perpetuating mufleh humanity law
3 min – v: why are people listening to me.. i’m just a guy
4 min – v: started the nomad thing in 2013 and pretty much haven’t stopped..(travel around to speak)
5 min – (you have a home.. right?).. v: yeah.. maybe i get my sense of home from twitter et al
6 min – danny: got involved because concerned.. way tech is controlling us is pretty messed up.. can’t stop direction but can change it.. this is a spectacular experiment.. i’m either going to work on this stuff or go work in the woods
8 min – (why do you invent ethereum): v: 2013.. started trying my best to join the bitcoin community.. sleeping in tent because it’s rent free.. people will have an alt to fin system.. ideals of society will finally realize benefit thru these tech.. seems like only practical way forward.. any group pushing this forward in voluntary way has my support.. going to be the models of life in 21st and 22nd cent..
10 min – v: i definitely felt things were wrong.. and i wanted to get in and see if bitcoin could be part of a path to make things better
love his drive.. but if any form of m\a\p.. going to be same song
v: i had been nomading for 6 mos.. then i lived in this anarchist community in barcelona called ca l’afou.. this self sustaining community that existed outside institutional structures.. there were developers/anarchists.. and they were using bitcoin in a way that is very outside and sepaeate from society.. just seeing all the people come together and create community.. helped me understand aspects of how world goes
12 min – v: at same time saw many crypto groups having big parties.. making money.. but i was convinced there was potential in this..eventually i started realizing more and more that these are ideas that can be applied to more places than just a currency.. and that’s the idea that turned into ethereum
if only it wasn’t still a currency
13 min – v: first came up with idea of ethereum in 2013.. on a walk.. nature is .. (goes into chemistry of it).. fact that plants are just made out of (simples) air and water.. if we build an (simple) environ like this.. then naturally good things will grow over time.. we could build simple infra that people could build on top.. t
gershenfeld something else law et al and hari rat park law et al
need a sabbatical ish transition
[will replies to this tweet [https://x.com/wor/status/1950035182083592492]: Right on… Vitalik hopes, if we build even a simple, open environment (one that allows memory, authentication and agreement execution) then trust and coordination will emerge naturally over time. A bit like like the lesson from Rat Park: it wasn’t the rats, it was the cage. When the context changes, behavior transforms. … but important to have clarity on why .. what underlying protocols build trust? … Gershenfeld shows us how complex systems emerge from simple, generative rules … and commitment pooling protocol is that kind of base layer that builds trust (always was). … nb sabbatical isn’t escape, it’s soil regeneration and often a good time to fork. We need time to breathe, compost, and sprout what’s next. to me.. trust is unconditional.. otherwise it’s embedded in judgment/measuring/accountibility/reciprocity.. can’t ‘build’ trust.. if commitment pooling ness is ‘ trust worthy mech to keep commitments accountable..curating and tracking clear commitment‘ .. it too is a cancerous distractions]
15 min – v: completely possible to live a life w/o banks/corps.. to build this new internet..
16 min – (?): this radically expands the amount of trust that people can have in working with each other across borders/faiths/languages.. it reps this next evolution of coordination for humanity
huge red flags.. legit trust is all or nothing.. unconditional.. et al.. again.. not legit diff coord..
e: need means (nonjudgmental expo labeling) to undo hierarchical listening as global detox so we can org around legit needs
17 min – justin drake: (what is ethereum): the dream of the internet was to connect everyone w/o borders or mediation.. but the complexity of what we do now has made us rely on middlemen.. esp giant corps/govt.. but it doesn’t have to be like this.. they provide trusted services.. mediate payments.. handles id and reputation.. reviews insurance.. but what if we can rebuild all this as apps of ethereum..t
all cancerous distractions.. so will just be perpetuating same song.. not getting to the root of problem if we want all to be legit free
18 min – justin: this infinite garden.. blank canvas that is permissionless.. anyone could come in.. we’re building infra that the whole word can enjoy.. t and on top of these really strong foundations.. we can build this infinite garden.. and this is where a lot of the power comes from
not infinite/free .. not garden-enough .. not legit permissionless.. not for everyone.. foundations not strong/deep enough.. if any form of m\a\p
legit freedom will only happen if it’s all of us.. and in order to be all of us.. has to be sans any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do
how we gather in a space is huge.. need to try spaces of permission where people have nothing to prove to facil curiosity over decision making.. because the finite set of choices of decision making is unmooring us.. keeping us from us..
ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)
the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]
there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..
ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition
and this is where the power comes from.. it might mean id for people who want to vote.. might mean your passport as an nft on your phone
so haven’t gotten rid of voting (decision making is unmooring us law et al) or identity ness.. or border ness (siddiqi border law et al)
it could lead to all sorts of mini revolutions in society
rather.. all sorts of mini iterations of same song.. so aka: cancerous distractions to getting to root of problem
19 min – dmitry butern (father): vitalik has a mind that is still to this day.. curious about how things work.. he was born in 94 in russia.. a very scarey time for this country.. attempt to build artificial centralized structure.. then paradigm falls apart and no idea what to do..
21 min – natalia ameline (mother): all the savings that they saved thru out their whole life.. over the night.. just became worthless.. really tragic.. in this environ start reflecting on want you want for self/child
22 min – dad: it was clear we had to leave russia.. when vitalik was 6 we decided to go to canada.. big shift for him.. we gave him computer.. because his comfort/toy.. then when he was 7 he created encyclopedia bunnies.. with lots of details: math, banking system, et al.. you can see how fascinated he was with numbers and how easy it was for him to create it.. amazing reflection of his mind
24 min – dad: you could see he was a unique child.. but for many years didn’t speak.. mind was so far ahead of speaking.. wondering as a parent if this is ok.. but things were progressively on pace
25 min – dad: when ethereum started he was not looking to be leader.. he thought he’d write about it and some smart person would do something with it.. but people saw his sincerity and people pushed him into this leadership.. it was not something that came naturally.. that’s still one of the most challenging things for him
26 min – nathan schneider: (why have you chosen to focus on vitalik’s writing) v was person that first got me interested in this in first place.. in many ways he fits ‘tech founder’ too perfectly.. but at same time.. he is above all a writer/thinker asking these questions we really need to be exploring..
nathan schneider et al
21 min – nathan: in 2011-12 i’d seen people seeking an alt.. in the streets.. in occupied spaces.. responding to fin crisis of 2008.. my own understanding of what had gone wrong was lack of democracy
28 min – nathan: in white paper as vitalik described eth.. it made me wonder if could move what’s on streets to digital space.. *eth opened door for systems that could be more closely governed/monitored.. and attuned to the people using it.. we can’t assume however that it will just take care of itself to make sure the good things come out.. **we need to be involved..
*?
**yeah.. let’s.. ie: there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake.. and we’re missing it
ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition.. local to both of us.. no?
29 min – v: next step to talk w 10 people interested and make 5 co founders.. big mistake.. thought they were nice guys.. i was convinced.. the whole corp approach didn’t sit well with me.. if taking money to build for all.. then have shareholder.. et al
31 min – mihai alisie (co founder): hq for eth in switzerland.. hardest part was having people get along
32 min – c hoskinson (co founder): thought i was going there to vote on business structure.. then found out that basically half of org had been in discussion to completely rebuild/reform the project into functionally.. a not for profit.. they want horizontal power structures.. they basically want the janitor to be at same level as person at top.. crazy.. all equal .. like a hippie commune
33 min – v: i was basically trying to abdicate responsibility the whole time because i didn’t really want it.. i ended up needing to remove people.. moment i realized not everyone is in it for ideals.. and many just want to make money.. had the reality of difficult human relations.. a lot of things break up at this point.. so we did end up going on the non profit route.. and i think it was good for everyone
34 min – gavin wood (co founder): want to demo that it works so have proof of concept and who what is really capable w this tech
v: whatever the drama.. the developers kept developing.. launch date 2015.. ethereum actually exists now.. there is no off switch.. you’ve created life
well.. not alive life.. we need organism as fractal for that
35 min – v: now the question is.. what will you build on ethereum
again.. gershenfeld something else law
37 min – nfts are a new business case for artists to be able to monetize their work
oi.. cancerous distraction.. perpetuating ongoing disturbances to the dance
rise is insane.. but also effecting the environment.. environmentally incredibly costly
40 min – danny: we’re trying to upgrade eth because there is a fundamental problem.. the higher the price goes up the more energy consumption will show up.. currently used energy consumption of argentina..
v: really intent on coming up w a solution..
42 min – the way blockchains upgrade itself.. social consensus.. so a lot of difficulty is all around coordination
43 min – (aya miyaguchi – eth exec director): we say eth is committed to decentralization.. so of course it’s chaotic/not-easy to coordinate.. but we want to let things happen as organically as possible.. this is the most important unique part of ethereum.. t
then.. need to use it to facil the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)
there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..
ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition
44 min – v: the growth in beginning has been surprising.. how many people care about it
nft’s 10 b dollar business..
45 min – v: the diff between crypto and a lot of pre crypto things w similar value to crypto basically is the money aspect.. this is a double edged sword.. good: provides funding; bad: people see opp to use eth to get money.. if people think this is what ecosystem is about.. fin incentive is like a fire.. can use to keep warm of burn your house down
48 min – v: how can we channel.. if you’re into this stuff (money) you’re not part of community we want to see
aya: not easy in a society where making the most profit is the goal..
49 min – v: what i would want to see.. is can we make changes toward a better system..(otherwise) ends up being a huge missed opp..t
huge huge huge.. wish you could hear..
perhaps let’s try/code money (any form of measuring/accounting/people telling other people what to do) as the planned obsolescence w/ubi as temp placebo.. where legit needs are met w/o money.. till people forget about measuring..ie: sabbatical ish transition
50 min – tim o reilly: if funding races ahead of achievement problems start.. what we want w new techs/decent .. is *lots and lots of experimentation.. till you see what works
*yeah.. like ongoingly.. from the get go.. via a sabbatical ish transition..
**or not.. who defines what works ness.. i think legit free people would rather just spend their days danceing.. ie: hardt revolution law
tim: experiment – trying to figure out what it means.. that’s what decent is about.. innovation till you find the thing.. that becomes the new norm
why do we need a new norm.. to me that’s whalespeak
myth of normal et al
51 min – tim: techs very rarely stay same as they are envisioned by their creators
52 min – erin plante 2022: also have bad actors
53 min – chris wong: fbi and threats et al
erin: this last year was largest year of hacks.. used for military funds.. so massive
red flags for cancerous distractions.. ooof
54 min – v: (as creator do you feel responsible).. responsibility but building is also important.. to balance of the two .. a lot of downs are hard to predict.. ie: einstein responsible for weapons? i would say no.. he invented an amazing piece of physics and it just has all sorts of applications..t
huge huge to ie: hari rat park law et al.. need the conditions for free people first.. so that all else are irrelevant s.. again.. the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness
56 min – v: a lot of people are really putting a lot of hope into the crypto space at changing world.. at some point we have to actually do that
yes.. ie: a sabbatical ish transition
ukraine et al
57 min – alona sevchenko (co founder ukraine dao): i want to help to defend ukraine from this attack w crypto.. by selling an nft of ukraine flag.. using eth to transfer the funds.. that are helping ukraine to fund itself.. when this ends.. i just want my family to be alive.. literally the only reason i’m doing this.. yet it’s an unspeakable balance
58 min – v: when the (ukrainian) war started.. i just had this feeling that if i don’t use my voice and do something here then why would i do that for pretty much anything else.. i did not want to give people the impression they could have gotten if i said nothing.. that i support what’s going on
59 min – v: they should have handled my russia trip better.. one of my biggest regrets.. there are some things that are worth taking a stance over..
massive donations pouring into ukraine in form of crypto.. this is huge for ukrainian govt.. instantly available.. (v) handled 8b donates to ukraine.. his dad more
1:00 – food, lighters, power banks, medicine.. military support (all from donations)
1:01 – v (march 2022 – denver – co founders meeting): moving very quickly from theory to practice.. how do we protect et al
1:02 – urgency but too much pressure causes burn out
very troubled process is delays in making eth less energy consuming
1:03 – dad & v: v: on having power to affect this.. dad: yes and people are looking for that strength now
1:04 – crypto plummets.. fin cripled.. i think we can acknowledge these ideas have failed.. not as revolutionary as made out to seem
again.. because it’s not about hari rat park law et al
1:05 – v: if space fails from here.. investing in stuff investing in stuff.. one thing loses everything.. trying to get beyond that.. sometimes i feel like there hasn’t been enough despair yet.. but i don’t know
1:07 – tim: don’t know where all this is going.. if this is truly valuable tech.. best thing that could happen is what is happening.. the collapse of the speculative econ so you can see what’s left.. what really matters
1:08 – v: going to ukraine for kiev tech summit.. important for me personally .. huge part of people’s efforts is their search for meaning
1:10 – v: i was impressed that you were willing to host a tech summit in the middle of a war.. .. this moment has shown that crypto can have impacts.. important to have these down to earth moments.. that there are very really/important things that tech is doing.. bubbles pop but some things can last forever
1: 11 – on crypto in argentina.. the fact that crypto social is taking off.. really turning into something that is a much stronger eco system.. really amazing..
1:13 – berlin 2022 – final count down to eth upgrade..
1:16 – v: this will reduce world wide energy consumption by 0.2%.. which sounds tiny but for all of humanity that’s a pretty mind blowing number
1:19 – danny: we’ve accomplished something quite large in non traditional way.. anyone who thinks they understand where it’s going is lying to self
1:20 – v: my biggest fear is a bull market.. then all this just comes back.. there is value in being quiet and not being loud until you have something that’s worth being loud about
1:21 – v: bringing 200 people together.. getting them to live together for 2 mos and solve problems that matter to people and eth itself.. maybe in a couple yrs we’ll get a larger that more people care about.. i do what i can to make sure the thing happens.. but hopefully doesn’t need me to be around forever
1:22 – v: last yr has been new chapter for me in bunch of ways.. feeling more optimistic.. keep calm and keep building..
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- vitalik: an ethereum story
- vitalik on /acc ness
- vitalik on degen communism
- vitalik on network sovereignties
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be you. 