jamespitts

A better way to look at this kind of product would be: TV with an API.

Now apply this orientation to any device which you would connect to the TV with an API. Speakers with an API. DVD player with an API. Device to interact with my Apple TV... with an API.

Imagine what wonderful things would be made possible by such a class of products. I would pay a lot more for this, and I know that many others would too.

Cryptocurrencies are a divisive issue, perhaps stemming from our overly-strong preferences, biases, and prejudices.

I have been participating in the Ethereum community for many years and I agree that there is a widespread belief that decentralized tech and economies run on smart contracts can substantively address social problems. Additionally, in the wider crypto community there is a widespread belief that these networks are a way to restore fair money.

In most cases I don't think that these beliefs are post-hoc rationalization. Rather, it is simply motivating to think this way. "woo" is a longstanding feature of any new human endeavor because most of us are psychologically wired to think that what we work on is going to be helpful, and we build a little religion with each other in order to cohere and quickly get the work done.

Regarding the question whether decentralized tech will make the world "better": it can and will in some cases -- for very specific reasons -- but IMO widespread adoption of platforms like Bitcoin and Ethereum will also lead to many new and terrible social problems.

As is the case for every major technology unleashed on our world.

Focusing on the over-positive views of enthusiasts won't stop them, and certainly won't stop the progression of the tech. People will keep building on something new when it can be built, when it is wildly interesting, and when the endeavor is sustainable.

What we need to put more attention on is what to do with the outcomes. It is our responsibility to do so! How to replace the services the tech will disrupt with options that have qualities we desire: more fair, less expensive, more secure, less arbitrarily alterable, etc.

And we need to put more attention on the ways it could all go wrong and bring widespread harm.

There will always be people who choose a field for success, and they are more likely to flee when it seems unsuccessful.

I was once connected with someone who was just getting started in his career. He was entering the tech industry as a software engineer, having graduated w/ a CS degree from a UC in 2000 or thereabouts.

This person had majored in CS because of the late 1990s tech bubble, yet felt strongly at the time that it was not a good field once the tech bubble burst. I was aghast, not only at the reason he chose his path and the waste, but also at the idea that a bubble pop would send him out of the field so easily.

He ended up going into real estate just as that field bubbled into insanity, God bless his soul.

> The copy of a digital image is 1:1 with the original.

Not in the case of an NFT. Accompanying the image data is a cryptographically-enforced means to assign control to a user / key holder.

This control is either over a single, unique art piece or over a certain number in a limited set of duplicates of the art piece.

While the image data can be seen as non-unique, the user can be confident that the copy which they control represents ownership of a unique asset with the ability to trace provenance back to the artist.

You're welcome! I've only played a small part in this amazing phenomenon, mainly DevOps and community-organizing. But it has been amazing to do anything to help.

Congrats1 This was always a dream of mine to get to this with raptfm.

Definitely consider creating a preset which positions the users around an object or in relation to each other when they first arrive, e.g. "conference meeting table" or "trailhead".

Another one is carefully composing the physical constraints within a space, especially when others are present. In virtual, social boundaries no longer hamper us from flying around or other behavior which can alter how a shared space feels for everyone. It may be necessary to impose rules of movement to preserve the main premise of communication.

I see a lot more housing options ahead.

Even though many of us understand the issues around pseudonymity in our various tech and gamer scenes, this is a generational flash-point in general society.

During the 2008-9 crisis I learned that the failures and responses could be understood in the context of mass computational problems.

Before a crisis, the system moves along w/o having to fully process everything; this is because a low-fidelity understanding of value and status of securities and agreements is sufficient for participants to operate. However once the crisis has begun, new dire weaknesses and new structures require much higher fidelity to guarantee safety. The participants find that there is much more to compute than can be computed in any reasonable timeframe.

This is why the monster-sized purchasing programs by lenders of last resort are somewhat effective; the are enabling everyone to function by delaying the difficult financial computations.

Perhaps one reason is competitive differentiation. When everyone is carrying the same generic items, price becomes the main factor. Liquor stores generally fight in that space. For neighborhood grocery stores, eye-catching and better quality produce and meats can be a draw for customers.