Author: Paul

As I write this, Bitcoin has just passed 985 million transactions. A quick, “back of the envelope” calculation says that it will process its one billionth transaction in six or seven weeks… somewhere around May 20^th. I think this is a milestone we should note. Continue reading “Bitcoin’s One Billionth Transaction”

I would pay dearly for young people to feel what it was like to be a scientifically minded child in the 1960s. It was a special and beautiful moment. Each week there was a new step toward the stars. And this was not science fiction, this was real. There was an exhilaration to it that I don’t think can be found in any other venture. The door to infinite space was creaking open for us. Continue reading “To Be Young and Headed to the Stars”

The biggest crimes stand in the open; what prevents people from seeing them is simply their size and the fact that they are crimes. We can’t believe that such large evils are possible. They have to be explicable some other way. And so we notice them for only the blink of an eye, immediately conjuring a rationalization to save ourselves from the sight. Continue reading “The Ultimate Crime”

The idea that running away is a virtue bothers a lot of people, but when you find that the greatest men and women of history have done precisely this, it’s time to re-evaluate, no matter how it makes you feel.

Compliance is how we shrivel and ultimately die to ourselves. Acting on your own decisions – with all the risk that implies – is the path of life and liberation.

(Originally published June 22, 2020.)

I hadn’t planned on this post, but the ongoing mania compels me to contribute something toward the preservation of sanity and civilization. And so, here are some things to remember: Continue reading “The Preservation of Sanity And Civilization”

I am no fan of violent revolution, yet I have to admit that John Kennedy had a point when he said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” The forces that drive revolutions push themselves to the surface one way or another. If they can find a peaceful path, they have a chance to transform the world slowly and beneficially. If they are repressed, violence occurs sooner or later. Continue reading “How Cryptography Revolutionized Revolution”

Almost no one in the broader world knows about the crypto apostles. (My term, not one they apply to themselves.) Even rather few in the larger crypto community know much about them. So I’m not talking about famous names, but quiet people. I’ve decided to tell you about them with some hesitation. Continue reading “The Crypto Apostles”

This is a set of passages from my files: The thoughts of notable geniuses on the subject of education. I hope that parents, especially, will find them informative. Continue reading “Geniuses on Education”

At one time I lived very close to the Field Museum of Chicago; I had a membership and spent a good deal of time there. One evening, about ten minutes before closing, I noticed that workers had begun preparing the first floor for an evening event. I had a panoramic view from where I stood at the second floor balcony, and what I saw has stuck with me ever since. Continue reading “The Dignity of Work”

People very often expect authorities to possess superior information. After all, the assumptions of the 20^th century were that those at the top of large systems have information the rest of us don’t, and that they make better decisions because of it. This was the lesson of the factory, the military and government. In all cases, those at the top were believed to have the best information. Continue reading “The Quality of Information Within A Hierarchy”