Atoms, Institutions, Blockchains

Josh Stark of the Ethereum Foundation presents his 'hardness' framework, arguing that atoms, institutions, and blockchains are three distinct sources that make future outcomes predictable enough to enable human social coordination, resolving the apparent contradiction between blockchains being 'trustless' (no reliance on institutional hardness) and 'trustworthy' (they possess their own hardness). He introduces the term 'cast' for the specific outcome being hardened, analyzes the comparative strengths and weaknesses of each hardness source, and closes with open questions about whether protocols constitute a fourth category or sit inside/across the other three. The talk is followed by discussion with Trent, Juan, Seth, Gordon, and Dorian probing how to measure, discover, and red-team hardness.

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