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Ethereum is on the forefront of some of the hardest problems in distributed systems and security today. If anything, public blockchains have really pushed the e

Ethereum is on the forefront of some of the hardest problems in distributed systems and security today. If anything, public blockchains have really pushed the edges of research in some of these spaces, particularly around consensus, crypto, and mechanism design.

dgellow 6y ago
Also in governance! Lot of research is now financed directly by grants from the Ethereum Foundation! That’s a game changer for researchers. I know a few people who were able to get grants for their research projects, without the need to pass by the traditional academics system (I mean, they are academics but didn’t have to play the usual academics politics game to be funded).
- jfk13 6y ago
  So instead they were able to get grants on the basis of....what? Knowing some key people involved with Ethereum? Telling a persuasive story on Twitter? Having the right buzzwords in their bio? Sure, "the academics politics game" may often be an issue. But I don't see how "blockchain!" suddenly solves the problem of deciding where research funds should go in a better way.
  - yurielt 6y ago
    I honestly do not know what might be the actual conditions of the academics of the comment above. However in most of the cases of the research funded by the eth fundation it seems, it is because they have a good proposal, that is properly structured and detailed to seem valuable to the foundation. On top of that they likely happen to have an impressive resume and citations that give them the credibility. No need to quite aggressively shill the outdated academic politics, just because you mad about the fact that things like this are better.
  - DennisP 6y ago
    Grants from the Ethereum Foundation work like grants from any foundation that funds research: the foundation has a lot of money and employs people with the expertise to evaluate grant proposals.
  - dgellow 6y ago
    You’re projecting your doubts here. The research topic isn’t blockchain related, isn’t based on buzzwords, isn’t Twitter driven, etc. The Ethereum foundation is using their funds to finance open research in a lot of different domains, you can check https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/grants/ https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/grants/. Anyone can submit a proposal, present their research topic. It’s an actual community based way to finance some open research projects. That’s a fantastic development IMHO.
    - jfk13 6y ago
      > The research topic isn’t blockchain related, isn’t based on buzzwords, isn’t Twitter driven, etc. Well, one of the criteria appears to be "the potential to positively impact Ethereum", so it's hardly unrelated. > The Ethereum foundation is using their funds to finance open research in a lot of different domains, you can check https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/grants/ https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/grants/. So why should I believe they're more able to choose worthwhile projects to finance than any other foundation? As your link says, the "ESP team will work with you to refine and rescope your proposal as needed, then evaluate the final proposal with input from technical advisors before a funding decision is made". There are lots of foundations that finance research projects in whatever areas they're interested in, based on the funding decisions made by a panel/committee/team/whatever-you-like-to-call-it. What makes this one different/better?
  - zeroxfe 6y ago
    Their evaluation and decision making process is quite clear: https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/guide/ https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/guide/
maldini94 6y ago
I wonder if the pursuit of crypto is equivalent to our aspirations in space. We may not get to Mars but we'll learn a lot by attempting and will have valuable biproducts. Of course there is a waste product as well and the pursuit holds some cost but it motivates people and that shouldn't be underestimated

dgellow 6y ago

Also in governance! Lot of research is now financed directly by grants from the Ethereum Foundation! That’s a game changer for researchers. I know a few people who were able to get grants for their research projects, without the need to pass by the traditional academics system (I mean, they are academics but didn’t have to play the usual academics politics game to be funded).

jfk13 6y ago
So instead they were able to get grants on the basis of....what? Knowing some key people involved with Ethereum? Telling a persuasive story on Twitter? Having the right buzzwords in their bio? Sure, "the academics politics game" may often be an issue. But I don't see how "blockchain!" suddenly solves the problem of deciding where research funds should go in a better way.
- yurielt 6y ago
  I honestly do not know what might be the actual conditions of the academics of the comment above. However in most of the cases of the research funded by the eth fundation it seems, it is because they have a good proposal, that is properly structured and detailed to seem valuable to the foundation. On top of that they likely happen to have an impressive resume and citations that give them the credibility. No need to quite aggressively shill the outdated academic politics, just because you mad about the fact that things like this are better.
- DennisP 6y ago
  Grants from the Ethereum Foundation work like grants from any foundation that funds research: the foundation has a lot of money and employs people with the expertise to evaluate grant proposals.
- dgellow 6y ago
  You’re projecting your doubts here. The research topic isn’t blockchain related, isn’t based on buzzwords, isn’t Twitter driven, etc. The Ethereum foundation is using their funds to finance open research in a lot of different domains, you can check https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/grants/ https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/grants/. Anyone can submit a proposal, present their research topic. It’s an actual community based way to finance some open research projects. That’s a fantastic development IMHO.
  - jfk13 6y ago
    > The research topic isn’t blockchain related, isn’t based on buzzwords, isn’t Twitter driven, etc. Well, one of the criteria appears to be "the potential to positively impact Ethereum", so it's hardly unrelated. > The Ethereum foundation is using their funds to finance open research in a lot of different domains, you can check https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/grants/ https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/grants/. So why should I believe they're more able to choose worthwhile projects to finance than any other foundation? As your link says, the "ESP team will work with you to refine and rescope your proposal as needed, then evaluate the final proposal with input from technical advisors before a funding decision is made". There are lots of foundations that finance research projects in whatever areas they're interested in, based on the funding decisions made by a panel/committee/team/whatever-you-like-to-call-it. What makes this one different/better?
- zeroxfe 6y ago
  Their evaluation and decision making process is quite clear: https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/guide/ https://esp.ethereum.foundation/en/guide/

maldini94 6y ago

I wonder if the pursuit of crypto is equivalent to our aspirations in space. We may not get to Mars but we'll learn a lot by attempting and will have valuable biproducts. Of course there is a waste product as well and the pursuit holds some cost but it motivates people and that shouldn't be underestimated