Year: 2014

Application Scenarios for Bitcoin Multisignature Technology

Web3 & Cypherpunks2014.08.08
Application Scenarios for Bitcoin Multisignature Technology
0. A Brief Introduction to Multisignature Technology Generally speaking, one Bitcoin address corresponds to one private key, and to spend the funds in that address, the holder of the private key must initiate a signature. Multisignature technology, simply put, means that multiple private-key signatures are required for a transaction to be valid. For example, a certain sum of funds corresponds to 3 private keys, and at least any 2 of them must participate in the signing process for the funds to be spent; if only 1 private key signs, it is invalid. This 2/3 arrangement can be extended to any m/n, such as 3/3, 1/5, 6/11, and so on,…
freedom Web3 Bitcoin decentralization
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2014年8月8日
An Introduction to the Historiography of the General History of Technology

AI & the Future of Technology2014.08.01
An Introduction to the Historiography of the General History of Technology
Introduction to the Historiography of the General History of Technology //Note: this article has not yet been completed. I am only giving Wu laoshi an account in advance during the discussion… Next I will flesh out the concept of “the history of technological thought” a bit more. 1. A Survey of Western Research on the History of Technology In the English-speaking world, the history of technology as an academically institutionalized discipline roughly began in the 1950s. Its markers were the publication of the monumental Oxford edition of A History of Technology (Volumes 1 through 5 were published in 1954–1958, the last two volumes in 1978, and the general index of…
technology culture media history
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2014年8月1日
Bitcoin and Mathematics: How Reliable Is Cryptography?

Web3 & Cypherpunks2014.07.27
Bitcoin and Mathematics: How Reliable Is Cryptography?
I haven’t written any Bitcoin-related articles for a long time. Before, I was busy with graduation, but recently, after graduating, I’ve actually become much less busy. On the one hand, I’ve been lazy; my efficiency has been low lately, and I’m in the process of getting myself back on track. I have a dozen accumulated articles that will have to be written out one by one. On the other hand, there really isn’t all that much more to say about Bitcoin. The knowledge that needed popularizing and the basic questions that needed answering have already been covered, so I haven’t had much desire to write anything new. As for the…
Web3 Bitcoin mathematics economy
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2014年7月27日
Exploring the Dark Interstices — A Review of Speculation and Media

AI & the Future of Technology2014.07.25
Exploring the Dark Interstices — A Review of Speculation and Media
(This book review was written as an invited assignment; in fact, I did not manage to read this book through, and I basically never got through the second half, “Speculative Economics.” That may have something to do with its postmodern writing style and with the Chinese translation, of course I also never found my footing, so the review below is actually not quite to the point; if I tricked you into reading it, don’t blame me for leading you astray… Of course, if you do manage to read it with a feel for it, you’re welcome to enlighten me~) Speculation and Media Amazon price: ￥20.10 http://news.sciencenet.cn/sbhtmlnews/2014/7/289950.shtm Born in…
philosophy culture book reading media
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2014年7月25日
Notes and Illustration Sources for “A Brief History of Scientific Culture”

Life & Notes2014.07.11
Notes and Illustration Sources for “A Brief History of Scientific Culture”
My first “monograph” has finally been published. This book is mainly a compilation of some articles already on the blog, with a bit of revision and stitching-together added to make a small book. Preparation for it began in September 2012, and by the end of that year the manuscript was basically finished. With Wu Laoshi’s help, it was published by Peking University Press as a public-literacy reader. Originally, I had hoped it would give me one more line on my record when I graduated and went job hunting for my doctorate, but after the slow publishing process, it finally came off the press at such an awkward time. By then…
science history of science Aristotle Bitcoin
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2014年7月11日
On the Historiographical Program for a General History of Science

History of Science & Scholarship2014.07.10
On the Historiographical Program for a General History of Science
According to Professor Wu, the historiographical program for a general history of science should primarily address the problem of how to make things “comprehensive.” In addition to the continuity of historical development across periods, we also hope to connect science and technology, Western science and Chinese science, and tell their story within a larger whole. I discussed this with Senior Brother Shengli, Jin Shixiang, and others, and we reached some basic common ground. First, we can still hold high the banner of “intentional history” as a basic defensive strategy. Of course, when explaining the outline of the historiographical program, there is no need to get too deeply into its philosophical…
China science history of science media
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2014年7月10日
An Initial Exploration of Simmel’s Philosophy of Money

History of Science & Scholarship2014.07.01
An Initial Exploration of Simmel’s Philosophy of Money
From ancient times on, philosophy has always concerned itself only with the pure world of ideas and grand ultimate questions, and has prized “useless learning.” Money, by contrast, plainly sat ill with the interests of mainstream philosophers. Even after contemporary philosophers began to turn their gaze toward technology, money as this distinctive artifact still rarely became a topic of central concern. Georg Simmel (1858–1918) was an exception. From *The Psychology of Money* to *The Philosophy of Money*, money was one of the focal points and pivots of his philosophical system. In particular, the massive *The Philosophy of Money* has had a far-reaching influence; even today, whenever one speaks of “philosophy…
philosophy freedom media modernity
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2014年7月1日
Postscript to the Doctoral Dissertation

History of Science & Scholarship2014.06.04
Postscript to the Doctoral Dissertation
On June 1 I finally completed my doctoral dissertation defense. At last I’ve set down one major burden, and can gradually begin rebuilding this blog, which has long lain barren. Let me start with a couple of post-defense reflections. My dissertation did not include a “postscript” or “acknowledgments”; instead, in the final paragraph of the conclusion, I embedded a note of gratitude to my teachers and friends in the Wu circle in the form of a reflexive examination. On the one hand, this was part of my dissertation’s design of “self-entanglement”; on the other hand, I also did not really want to stage a deliberately sentimental expression of feeling at…
philosophy scholarship discussion paper
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2014年6月4日
Postdoctoral Research Plan (A History of “Trash” from the Perspective of Media Ecology)

AI & the Future of Technology2014.04.17
Postdoctoral Research Plan (A History of “Trash” from the Perspective of Media Ecology)
I am currently applying to do a postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Tian Song at Beijing Normal University. This is a rather rare opportunity, and I very much hope it will come to fruition. As early as the beginning of my undergraduate years, I was already reading Professor Tian’s books, such as The Perpetual Motion Machine and the Goldbach Conjecture, Don Quixote’s Spear. Professor Tian can also be regarded as one of the people who first led me into philosophy of science. Of course, in terms of viewpoints and style, I differ with Professor Tian on many points, so later on my writings were basically more critical than supportive. Even so,…
technology media phenomenology nature
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2014年4月17日
On the Bitcoin Ban Controversy

Web3 & Cypherpunks2014.03.28
On the Bitcoin Ban Controversy
This article was also submitted for Bitren’s March featured-post selection and won second prize, so the copyright belongs to Bitren and it may not be reprinted in commercial form. My own blog is non-profit, so I’m still posting it here. Commercial websites wishing to reprint it should contact Bitren; non-commercial websites should please indicate Bitren as the source: http://bbs.btcman.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=17364 —————————————— I previously submitted a piece for consideration that talked about the MtGox issue, thinking it was a timely contribution. I never imagined that before that matter had even finished playing out, it would already have been covered over by a new major event. Recently the rumor that China was banning…
China freedom Web3 Bitcoin
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2014年3月28日