This has been a good year so far for Cardano. It successfully forked to become a multi-asset blockchain, enabling users to create tokens that run on Cardano natively, similar to how tokens operate on Ethereum. (Full smart-contract functionality remains on their roadmap.) Its token, ADA, became tradeable on Coinbase in…

HoloSign, Anyone? — Recently, DocuSign CEO Daniel Springer said it would never work to create a blockchain version of DocuSign because it would be extremely expensive and inefficient, even though the management of electronic signatures and agreements would seem to be just the kind of use case blockchain promises to address. He’s totally…

Part 1 in a Series on Currency Design — In collaboration with Arthur Brock At one point in Monty Python’s The Life of Brian, a crowd of worshippers has gathered outside the home of Brian, who they have mistaken for a prophet, to plead for a transmission of his wisdom. Brian attempts to send them away. “You’ve got it…

Assessing Risk and Opportunity in Light of the Deplatforming of Parler and Other Recent Events — In collaboration with Arthur Brock, Holochain architect Lately we’ve seen the deplatforming of communication apps that have been used unchecked for the planning of violence or the spreading of disinformation that resulted in violence, especially the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Extremist groups had already been…

The Nextnet Series: Part 3 of 3 — In collaboration with Arthur Brock [This article also appears on Holochain’s Medium page.] The first and second articles in this series explored the nature of unenclosable carriers and their potential to underpin an unprecedented explosion of human creativity and social flourishing. We suggest starting there if you haven’t already. This…

The NextNet Series: Part 2 of 3 — In collaboration with Arthur Brock [A version of this article also appears on Holochain’s Medium page.] The first article in this three-part series explored unenclosability as an essential property of non-corruptible communication channels. We suggest heading there, if you haven’t already, before reading this article. This piece explores what becomes…

About a month ago, a group of volunteers came together to advance the common goal of making COVID testing widely available in Boulder County, Colorado. This article briefly chronicles what’s happened since and where things stand now, in order to be of service to anyone who might find the information…

I’m amazed by the diversity of opinions around this question. — I have many intelligent peers, including what seems like a majority of the most diligent and well-regarded sense-makers I know, who believe some or all of the following: 🔸On containment and flattening the curve: Forget about containment; even flattening, while very important, won’t come close to avoiding mass overwhelm of…

Reprinted with permission from his 3.19.20 Facebook post — [ The original post and comment thread is here. ] A two step process to stop the pandemic: Everyone stay home starting now. Get tests to everyone. People who aren’t infected can come off quarantine. Thats it. Really. Yes, that is oversimplifying, but that is the critical Pareto response. That…