Author: Ming Guo
Translation: Claire Wu
Soteria is developing a holistic solution to solve some of the pressing problems of the current generation of blockchains, such as performance bottlenecks, while providing an adequate feature set for the decentralized economy it envisions, such as BlockDAG-based Scalable throughput and chain data storage, equal mining through memory, private computing and highly expressive non-Turing-complete, non-GAS light chain heavy application smart contracts.
Soteria is developing a holistic solution to solve some of the pressing problems of the current generation of blockchains, such as performance bottlenecks, while providing an adequate feature set for the decentralized economy it envisions, such as BlockDAG-based Scalable throughput and chain data storage, equal mining through memory, private computing and highly expressive non-Turing-complete, non-GAS light chain heavy application smart contracts.
Seeing this, do you feel hopeless about decentralized cryptocurrencies? Are they really hopeless? of course not! Since Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are not compatible with the centralized real world, why don't we build a new decentralized world?
Before pursuing the decentralized world, we should evolve our way of thinking, because (Bitcoin) this alien technology is something we have never seen before, we can no longer fall into the trap of "worshiping ships and goods", but should open our minds bigger.
Many want Bitcoin to be our savior and a symbol of resistance to financial hegemony, inequality and oppression by the powerful.
Today, 2.5 billion unbanked people need the help of Bitcoin. In today's Venezuela, Bitcoin has become an essential currency for ordinary people's daily survival, a store of value, not just a cup of exotic refined coffee and beer that can be purchased in the rich areas of Singapore.
Today, 10 years after the birth of Bitcoin, what is happening in different corners of the world above inspires us to keep thinking, what is the best positioning of Bitcoin? Should it be an indispensable necessity or an adornment of a luxurious life?
It is said that the best wines come from vines grown in the harshest places on earth (at least according to legend), and the same holds true for us. In order to make the best koji, we have to go out of our comfort zone to take risks (such as exploring day and night in the technical sector of cryptocurrency/blockchain), and participate in the most heated debates of the moment, perhaps these debates have no direct relationship with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies relationships, such as how do humans survive the extraordinary global climate change, and how do they cope with growing inequality in their lives?
Does Bitcoin exist for world peace?
No! I will not come up with such a "crazy" idea under the influence of alcohol, but some people may ask, isn't the hidden meaning of Bitcoin very far-reaching?
So, what about the socio-economic system of our world? Shouldn't they be the ones to take the lead in solving the perils facing humanity? In fact, we can all feel the apparent reluctance and impotence of the ruling order of the world, who are increasingly trapped in the current political deadlock Just search for "Brexit referendum" and you will understand), the only thing that can be guaranteed is that no one will do anything; the vested interests must be happy with this status quo, secretly happy (I will not name names, you must know it well clarify who I mean by "they").
It's a crazy MAD -Mutually Assured Deadlock situation!
We do feel powerless (when will we wield the power to change our destiny?). Perhaps this is why many of us seek refuge in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. It's a luxurious little place, enough to escape the seething world outside. Some of us wake up and realize we have an alien technology in our hands: Bitcoin. When survival is called into question and you happen to have an alien "weapon" in your hands, wouldn't you want to use it to right all the wrongs in the world?
Perhaps this is the rationale behind the ICO of Jesuscoin?
Don't laugh yet! Have you heard of Venezuela’s Petro Coin? We mentioned before that Bitcoin is an important store of value tool for people to survive in Venezuela. Ironically, however, the petro was the first cryptocurrency issued by a sovereign government. We have to give credit to the people of Venezuela, they are so fond of cryptocurrencies! When survival is at stake, their love for Bitcoin becomes so real and persistent.
So please stop being self righteous! If you thought Venezuelans weren’t ready for the crypto boom, neither were we. So let's pause for a second and revisit this alien technology that we have.
So, what is so special about Bitcoin?
To say that Bitcoin is an alien technology would mean subverting our common sense and understanding that the world we are trying to fit Bitcoin into is not one in which Bitcoin works well or even functions properly. This means that we need to rethink much of the underlying worldview we have come to rely on.
Many works of science fiction have explored this phenomenon. For example, in the movie "District 9", humans have been unable to operate alien weapons until the protagonist "grows" alien limbs after being exposed to alien biotechnology.
However, to truly understand that Bitcoin is an "alien technology", we must go deep into the subconscious of human civilization and question our basic understanding of the "common sense" that has been taken for granted in technology and culture for thousands of years.
Maybe we shouldn't think of Bitcoin as a weapon, or even a revolutionary weapon, because thinking in terms of a weapon means you're going to be fighting someone or something.
It also means that you want to keep fighting, even if you don't realize it, because the end result of all the fighting and wars is a stronger system that survives, which is typical of dualism!
If you want to change something, it's wise not to attack it head-on. Try to grow yourself outside of the system, just as you grow from your adolescent self to adulthood.
Therefore, the better way to use alien technology like Bitcoin (and cryptocurrencies) is not to use it as a corrective weapon against the existing world, but to start from scratch and use it to build a bigger and better world. The world of , this world will contain our existing relatively small world, so it can be seen that the mistakes of the current existing world will become trivial.
(to be continued)
This article is translated from Ming Guo's『Bitcoinis Alien Technology Part 2』
