Damus
UNCLE ROCKSTAR
Recent notes
Bitcoin is money. And it must be preserved as such. Money is the ultimate tool for distinguishing what's important from what's not. Every civilization that successfully scaled needed to invent it. Those that didn't remained stuck at a certain level, unable to deal with the information overload. Its people became lost in the games of lies and deception, as they resorted to inferior substitutes to serve as currency. Bitcoin needs to do one thing - be a decentralized ledger tracking who owns how much value, independent of any trusted third party. That's it. As Bitcoin continues to be increasingly successful, it's understandable that specific people will propose changes to gain more power or to shape Bitcoin to suit their specific needs. However, just because they try doesn't mean they should be allowed to. If we let Bitcoin's purpose become diluted to accommodate every use case, we'll end up pleasing none. Demand for a decentralized, always-available, general-purpose database is infinite. Everyone wants to write THEIR data into such a source of truth. If the data they're writing represents monetary transfers of value (especially from those who have a lot of sats to those who don't) - we should absolutely encourage and facilitate this. But if the data they're writing is a personal expression of vanity or a scheme designed to trade their 1 sat for more sats from someone else, we should absolutely call them out. More importantly, we should actively work to prevent such schemes from succeeding and from being built on top of Bitcoin. If people want to play zero-sum games and build "decentralized world computers", Ethereum already exists. That experiment has run its course over the past decade, and even its benevolent dictator & prophet Vitalik had to admit failure and propose a new five-year plan to make Ethereum "as beautifully simple as Bitcoin". Use Bitcoin the way you use money in your life - to focus your efforts and separate truths from lies. Help others do the same. Remember: you don't change Bitcoin; Bitcoin changes you. And those wanting monkey jpegs on the blockchain, elaborate technical experiments, personality cults, or thrilling zero-sum games should be directed toward Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, or whatever shitcoin currently boasts the largest marketing and R&D budget.
One of the clearest lessons I've learned growing up during a civil war is this: When you start seeing people you deeply respect turning on each other, trying to tear one another down - that's not your cue to pick a side. It's your cue to take a step back, refocus, and ask: What is actually true? And what can I do to understand the truth, on my own, without burdening anyone else? Sometimes, the most powerful thing you can do is - nothing. If someone lashes out at you in anger or self-righteous rage, you don't have to respond. You can choose to let them have the last word - even let them 'win' - especially if it costs you nothing. People might say you're being weak, but in my experience, this is the real strength. The more conflict escalates, the more people will show up who care about performance (rather than substance). Avoid interacting with these. They chase status, not understanding. They'll say anything to stay in the spotlight. Truth isn't loud. And above a certain level, conflict stops being productive. Like wars; you don't get to see who is right - only who is left. So whatever side of today's debates in Bitcoin you're on - continue to speak and seek truth. As long as you're doing it in a way that not only helps you find your truth, but helps others find theirs - more power to you.
gm, in Bitcoin, the only thing that truly matters at the end of the day is your own proof of work and that you are happy with it. Don't worry about anything or anyone else. Just stay focused on contributing and keep adding value to the timechain.