I missed the tweet thread, but add "Stand on Zanzibar" by John Brunner to your list. It will take a couple of tries to get past the first forty pages (the style of writing is unique, but engrossing once it sinks in) - totally worth it.
Nov 28, 2022·edited Nov 28, 2022Liked by Molly White
I've worked on developing technology for aid/humanitarian projects for more than a decade and luckily I haven't really seen blockchain get traction, but there is a larger problem for non-Web3 technologies as well. Tech people tend to think in terms of engineering problems, but the problems are social and human and just don't have tech solutions. I remember one project there was a discussion of smallholders being forced off their land, and someone suggested blockchain could provide a trusted land registry. But the problem isn't the lack of an accurate registry - the problem is the guy with the gun forcing you to give him his land, or the corrupt official who can say it was sold or given away. The blockchain can't solve that.
In terms of books I'm still genuinely not sure if I liked Piranesi but it was certainly memorable!
Great to see you hold your ground at Bloomberg, who have by the way a little problem with their cycle to catch the news and then reporting on it, especially in crypto developments can go very fast even if FTX had not yet collapsed. The funny upside is they had to put on little banners over the item that duly reminded everyone of it.
I interpreted Vitalik’s comment as asking if there are benefits to reading text over listening to recordings, potentially even of the same words (hence referencing audiobooks). Reading is certainly a different experience, probably with some distinct benefits, but I’m not sure it’s categorically “better.”
And I know you didn’t ask but since I don’t tweet here are my two off-the-cuff recs, both fiction and among the best books I’ve ever read:
Terry Pratchett deserves to be on every recommendation list. Recent authors I've enjoyed include NK Jemisin, Becky Chambers, and Tamsyn Muir, among others.
Issue 11 – A different sort of animal
I missed the tweet thread, but add "Stand on Zanzibar" by John Brunner to your list. It will take a couple of tries to get past the first forty pages (the style of writing is unique, but engrossing once it sinks in) - totally worth it.
I've worked on developing technology for aid/humanitarian projects for more than a decade and luckily I haven't really seen blockchain get traction, but there is a larger problem for non-Web3 technologies as well. Tech people tend to think in terms of engineering problems, but the problems are social and human and just don't have tech solutions. I remember one project there was a discussion of smallholders being forced off their land, and someone suggested blockchain could provide a trusted land registry. But the problem isn't the lack of an accurate registry - the problem is the guy with the gun forcing you to give him his land, or the corrupt official who can say it was sold or given away. The blockchain can't solve that.
In terms of books I'm still genuinely not sure if I liked Piranesi but it was certainly memorable!
Great to see you hold your ground at Bloomberg, who have by the way a little problem with their cycle to catch the news and then reporting on it, especially in crypto developments can go very fast even if FTX had not yet collapsed. The funny upside is they had to put on little banners over the item that duly reminded everyone of it.
I interpreted Vitalik’s comment as asking if there are benefits to reading text over listening to recordings, potentially even of the same words (hence referencing audiobooks). Reading is certainly a different experience, probably with some distinct benefits, but I’m not sure it’s categorically “better.”
And I know you didn’t ask but since I don’t tweet here are my two off-the-cuff recs, both fiction and among the best books I’ve ever read:
Ursula K. LeGuin - The Dispossessed
Elena Ferrante - My Brilliant Friend
Terry Pratchett deserves to be on every recommendation list. Recent authors I've enjoyed include NK Jemisin, Becky Chambers, and Tamsyn Muir, among others.