“The White Paper”
What is the white paper that kicked off the blockchain revolution?
What else can we do with that technology other than trade cryptocurrencies?
To get a little housekeeping out of the way about this book, you should know that the publisher is out of business as of 2024, and the title doesn’t make evident that most of the pages are dedicated to Brekke’s writing rather than than the white paper itself.
I love how this book was written. It’s explicitly not about blockchain or the identity of the author of the white paper, and it manages to cover everything that isn’t those two topics in one pretty compact object. It’s so well written, even a page turner.
Full disclosure I grew up in the age of digital utopia in the neighborhood at the center of the world capital of technology. This book is especially meaningful because it’s a contemporary take on all the things we used to believe were possible with technology like agency, interconnectedness, and creative potential. It has the vibes of the Whole Earth Catalogue with the experience of everything that happened between the Clinton years and covid.
If you feel like you still don’t understand the blockchain, or what the hell is going on around here in this technology revolution, this book totally helps. Even if you feel like you know what’s going on, read it anyway. It will hopefully shine a light in a new direction.
more coming soon