A highly provocative and insightful debut that cultivates the schools of thought pioneered by Andreas M. Antonopoulos', The Internet of Money, Saifedean Ammous’, The Bitcoin Standard, and Max Borders’, The Social Singularity.
In Blockchain Maximalist, Luis Wester establishes a firm technological and historical foundation on which he builds a “vibrant landscape of futuristic applications” with monumental economical, political, and societal relevance.
Many books in the surrounding space detail blockchain in the context of bitcoin, which neglects the relevant history of the technology before 2008. The first part of the book elaborates blockchain in the context of its encompassing history. Learn, in detail, how the technology functions and where it comes from in this part. Explore the intricate nature of the chain of records conceptualized by Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta in 1991. After which you will comprehend the relevance of Smart Contracts, proposed by Nick Szabo in 1994.
Concluding the first part with an extensive section on Consensus Mechanisms, with a focus on Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake, in which you will understand how to add a block to the chain.
You will understand to appreciate the long journey that blockchain has come with the help of an encompassing, written timeline in Part 2. Wester takes you by your hand and inspects all major breakthroughs, achievements, and milestones throughout the journey, up until 2019. This part examines the many obstacles that the technology has already overcome through which you will recognize why blockchain is here to stay.
Part 1 and 2 serve as a solid foundation for the third. The comprehensive, newfound knowledge enables the establishment of accurate conclusions. Wester’s firm grasp of the technological capabilities and possibilities are manifested in a provocative exploration of political and economical applications that escalates into a utopian vision of a decentralized society.
Together, you will explore a new form of decentralized and distributed economic entity, a blockchain-based education system, how blockchain can prevent police brutality, and how it can provide a means for public surveillance without privacy infringement. After indulging in the political philosophies surrounding democracy and self-governance, you will dissect the four pillars of a decentralized society, decentralized communication, law, economy, and finance. Accumulating into a vivid utopian vision for a futuristic civilization at the end of the part, you will grasp some of the monumental and breathtaking applications of the technology.
Wester concludes the book with lively prose in a personal message to the coming generations.
Throughout the book you will explore:
How blockchain functions.
Which components make up “Blockchain.”
(A Chain of Records, Smart Contracts, and Consensus Mechanisms.)
Where the technology comes from.
(A historically accurate retelling.)
What it means for the individual and society.
(And really, what it means for the individual “in” society, a decentralized society that is.)
You will expand your understanding and formulate answers to pressing questions:
Why is this technology so revolutionary?
How do distributed entities function?
What changes will we see in governance?
What type of society does blockchain enable?
If you would like to grasp some of the deeper layers of one of the most revolutionary technologies of our time, then this book is for you.
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