Proof of Work and Bitcoin Through the Lens of Time

In this episode Saifedean talks to software developer and author Gigi. They start by talking about Gigi’s book 21 Lessons: What I've Learned from Falling Down the Bitcoin Rabbit Hole, and why Gigi’s most important lesson is “you will not change bitcoin, but bitcoin will change you”. They move on to discuss the relationship between bitcoin and time. They cover how bitcoin solved the problem of reaching decentralized agreement on time and how bitcoin, as an unparalleled savings technology, serves to lower human time preference. The Q&A touches on topics such as the mind-boggling security of the SHA256 cryptographic hash function and threats to bitcoin’s future.

Related links:

• Gigi’s book, 21 Lessons: What I’ve Learned from Falling Down the Bitcoin Rabbit Hole
• Bitcoin is Time
• “Bitcoin derangement syndrome” explained by Urban Dictionary
• For more discussion on Nassim Taleb see Episode #53: Allen Farrington’s Adventures with Fiat Intellectuals
• Video recommended by Gigi on how hard SHA256 would be to crack
• Gigi’s personal website
• Gigi’s article: “Dear Family, Dear Friends, A letter to all of you who still have no bitcoin” on Medium, and on saifedean.com in Arabic
• Ludwig von Mises’ discussion of how the expensiveness of gold production is “the minor evil” compared to the inflations caused by easy money
• Follow Gigi on Twitter 

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THE BITCOIN STANDARD TOOLKIT/SPONSORS

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