“How real are real numbers” [1] - a paper covering a topic that many people overlook: an argument against the continuum and for discreteness.

In school you learn about the various different number systems but rarely does anyone question whether or not the continuum (and implicitly the concept of infinity) exists.

I’ve mentioned previously on Nostr that infinity is inserted into the foundation of our mathematical theories as an axiom and therefore assumed to exist. As finite observers with finite lifespans and limited precision instruments (microscopes, telescopes, colliders, detectors, etc) it’s impossible for us to ever observe or relate in any way to anything infinite so there’s no basis for using it as an axiom. It’s merely a convenience.

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1. https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0411418

Miner centralization is far more concerning than consensus-valid spam transactions.

A spam-free blockchain with KYC-only transactions is useless.

The most important contribution you can make today, more important than the node implementation you run, is to become a miner.

“Control the past, control the future” is more than a cliche.

Let's consider the more general case of unreliable data about the past rather than specifically intentional manipulation.

Imagine an engineer who kept getting the wrong values for derivatives. Their structures would be unstable.

Could you send a satellite to a distant planet if you consistently measured their past locations incorrectly? Certainly not.

The value of an immutable ledger for economics is as profound as the discovery of differential equations was for engineering and physics.

Use bitcoin.

I’ll be traveling without this nsec the next few weeks. See you all on the other side of the journey!

Free Samourai

“Lightning stable channels” or how to introduce untrustworthy third parties to your Bitcoin transactions.

Don’t let a third party tell you what your channel balances should be, anon.