makes me feel sad for the dude who paid over 1000 BTC for a strad recently.

The number of persons to whom that applies is vanishingly small. Of course they control the bulk of the wealth, but their number is quite small.

National Socialist seems apt. We lost WW2.

Picasso would have, if it got him a sandwich and a bottle of burgundy.

You're referring to the use of the word "engineer" as a legal term of art. Others may refer to its use in the ordinary English language, which is in no wise obligated to conform to the perversities of the law.

When the U.S. primary export was industrial goods, there was work available in industry.

Later we innovated in electronics, and exported electronics. EEs were in the catbird seat.

Later still, we led in software. We exported software. We worked on software.

Now, we just export $100 bills. The need to actually do work is much diminished.

The policies achieve exactly what they are designed to achieve. It's just that your goals differ from those of the policy makers by a fairly large margin. For example, you would probably like your children to live. They would prefer that your children die.

The OP's comments on the "social contract" refer to his desire for people with guns to take from my science projects and from the people I support, and give to his science projects, and the people he supports. Calling it "the social contract that cultivates science for the common good" is despicable propaganda. It's funny how
"the common good" always involves hiring thugs to threaten other people so that you get your way.

True. Now bitcoin is the best currency. But that's not it's day job. By day it does yeoman's work as a p2p transaction protocol which preserves a transparent global general ledger.

I think any successor to bitcoin will build on top of the bitcoin network. It's the worlds largest supercomputer. You'd have to be an idiot to throw away the worlds largest supercomputer.

I like to keep my savings in the most secure storage vehicle which current technology allows. A successor to bitcoin will need to be just as secure, in order to compete. That means either it uses the bitcoin mining network, or it spends a billion dollars building a competitive network.

Layered protocols will enable smart contracts, legal custody proof, provable notary services, p2p currency exchange, and an unknowable number of new applications. This is like the advent of the LLC or double-entry accounting. It is a game changer. and first movers will grab the land.

I think that if your employer intercepts and decrypts your bank traffic without prior approval from your bank, they are committing a U.S. felony.

also true for the demo

pretty sure he anticipated the delivigne/rodriguez thing.

Willie Lohman, is that you?

For these particular demos he implemented a "solvemyproblem" function elsewhere. Not, however, for an infinite variety of closely related problems of similar practical import.

amen