Re: Cyberspace, Crypto Anarchy, and Pushing Limits

[schirado@lab.cc.wmich.edu (Ian M. Schirado)]

> Cyberspace, Crypto Anarchy, and Pushing Limits

A concise and thought-provoking article, Tim; I've missed your presence
on the Extropians list since your departure. Glad to see you still in top
form.


> ...Perhaps we should be thinking more about the implicaitons and effects
> of strong crypto, digital money, ideal remailers, etc., assuming that
> certain practical problems that bedevil us today are, or soon will be,
> solved. To some extent we already do this...

Always keeping in mind, of course, that these are merely theoretical
exercises, correct? The idea of crossing a bridge when you come to it is
fine, but we're talking here about bridges that don't exist yet, and
won't without a lot of effort on our individual parts. The building can
never be built without a solid foundation.

> And of course many of us have found Vernor Vinge's "True Names" to be
> an excellent (and quickly readable) treatment of how things could work
> in a world of fast, cheap, and secure communication.

I haven't been able to track down a copy yet, although I've read all of
Vinge's other works by now. (His future version of the Net still seems
all too possible. "Death to vermin", indeed!)

[many excellent points elided]

> I hope some of you agree with me.

I think your post sums up the possibilities of cryptoanarchy to empower
individuals quite well.

My one bitch at this point is that privacy in the real world is so much
harder to achieve than in the virtual world of cyberspace.