balajis
@balajis.eth
Outstanding piece by @js, one of the best I’ve read this year. https://stark.mirror.xyz/n2UpRqwdf7yjuiPKVICPpGoUNeDhlWxGqjulrlpyYi0
15 replies
36 recasts
188 reactions
balajis
@balajis.eth
Some thoughts. First, what he calls “programmable hardness” I’ve called “programmable scarcity”, as distinct from “programmable information.” That is, the internet lets you *copy* digital objects easily, but blockchains let you also *transfer* them — by using cryptography to create digital scarcity.
1 reply
0 recast
5 reactions
balajis
@balajis.eth
However, “programmable hardness” may be a better phrase. It combines several concepts under one umbrella: - financially hard, as in hard money - computationally hard, as in NP-hard - legally hard, as in hard commitment - practically hard, as in hard to fake And the visual is “physically hard” as in gold.
1 reply
0 recast
9 reactions
balajis
@balajis.eth
Programmable hardness is a generalization of the hard money that is Bitcoin. It pulls in many adjacent words: - scarcity - difficulty - constraint - commitment - immutable - uncensorable - fixed - permanent - archival - reliable - constant - dependable - trustworthy - transparent - provable - verifiable
1 reply
0 recast
5 reactions
balajis
@balajis.eth
His word “cast” is also well chosen, as it relates the physical aspect of hardness to the temporal aspect of future reliability. - trust the forecast - cast it in stone - and cast that stone into the future Also, cast as in “cast a vote” (a binding commitment) and “cast a shadow” (a line extending out).
2 replies
1 recast
6 reactions
balajis
@balajis.eth
Lol, and also “cast” as in Farcaster!! 🤪 I didn’t even realize that till just now. @dwr.eth did you pick the name with that connotation? Farcaster: cast a commitment far into the future, like the blockchain.
1 reply
1 recast
10 reactions
balajis
@balajis.eth
His analogy between information theory and cryptographic hardness is also excellent. Of course many have written on this topic, but quantifying the computational *and* financial cost of falsifying something may become as important as calculating how many bits it has. “Hards” as the new bits?
1 reply
1 recast
5 reactions
