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As someone interested in all of cryptography, I cringe every single time when we call blockchain "crypto". Sure, there's cryptography in it. But you don't call

As someone interested in all of cryptography, I cringe every single time when we call blockchain "crypto". Sure, there's cryptography in it. But you don't call a mail or http server "crypto". There's similar tech in git, we don't call it "crypto", we call it VCS. Calling this "crypto" is just trying to add a mystic aura for stuff people don't understand, to further muddy the waters. We have a word for this technology. It's not "crypto". It's blockchain. Sure, it's your shorthand for "cryptocoin" or "cryptovalue". Which are again newspeak for blockchain, and we could argue that given its limits and usage of the last years they should be called crypto-investment, at best. Which is still like ordering a pizza and forcefully referring to it only as "food". I want a pepperoni-food please. Sorry for the rant, but it really feels like it's just a way to further embellish something with dubious values like the post points out

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jyriand 5y ago
It's like people will create their own desired footpaths over fields when the sidewalks are not in the right place, so it seems the word "crypto" is just a shortcut because there aren't any shorter words to describe blockchain.
avindroth 5y ago
Crypto sounds way cooler and can be prepended to things much more easily. It’s a social market out there.
sadfasf122 5y ago
Cryptocurrency - therefore crypto for short. /thread.
ccamrobertson 5y ago
Regardless of the "crypto" shorthand, blockchains are distinct from cryptocurrencies. A cryptocurrency can exist without using a blockchain to record balance changes, and likewise, a blockchain can exist which is not used for recording accounts or spendable outputs. The "crypto" shorthand emerged from the cryptocurrency side, which by and large, uses cryptographic primitives in order to spend and receive value. One further bit worth adding is that the market demand for cryptocurrencies broadly has directed massive amounts of resources towards the development of novel cryptographic primitives.
munchbunny 5y ago
As someone who works on stuff that involves cryptography but not cryptocurrency, I agree, but at this point I consider it a lost cause. Cryptocurrencies have taken over so much of the popular imagination that even when I say "cryptography" I get responses like "oh you mean like Bitcoin?"
- eppsilon 5y ago
  Kind of like when you use the word "hacker" (as in HN) with a non-technical person. They always assume you mean the black hat kind.
vmception 5y ago
Its called context. A new one was created to convey a shared concept (aka the purpose of language) and will always be more popular than the thing you invested way too much time into to change. It’ll sting at first but time to accept that and update your lexicon.
baby 5y ago
Heh, I think that ship has sailed and it’s a waste of time to argue over the real meaning “crypto” should have
steveEnix 5y ago
This is a very prescriptive approach to language, as in prescribing meaning to words. It's a philosophy of fixed meaning that does not allow language to evolve. The alternative camp would be descriptive, as in allow language to evolve and define its rules based on how people actually use it. At the end of the day it's not one or the other, but a balance... your objection seems rather attached to the usage you know. Recognizing this dichotomy is useful when thinking about shared values, such as programming styles, ethics, and money. DFW's Consider the Lobster has an essay called "Authority and American Usage" that covers it well, originally printed here: https://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads/HarpersMagazine-2001-04-0070913.pdf https://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads/HarpersMagazine-2001-...
sneak 5y ago
"crypto" means hidden/concealed, if we're going to go there. I sometimes use the term "cryptoracist" but I had to stop because most people don't know what κρυπτός means.
garmaine 5y ago
Crypto means cryptozoology!
B-Con 5y ago
I moderate r/crypto . It's about cryptography, not cryptocurrency. Imagine the spam we get.
- bitxbitxbitcoin 5y ago
  Not all heroes wear capes. I'm also a mod on some subs so I can only imagine the spam you get.

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jyriand 5y ago

It's like people will create their own desired footpaths over fields when the sidewalks are not in the right place, so it seems the word "crypto" is just a shortcut because there aren't any shorter words to describe blockchain.

avindroth 5y ago

Crypto sounds way cooler and can be prepended to things much more easily. It’s a social market out there.

sadfasf122 5y ago

Cryptocurrency - therefore crypto for short. /thread.

ccamrobertson 5y ago

Regardless of the "crypto" shorthand, blockchains are distinct from cryptocurrencies. A cryptocurrency can exist without using a blockchain to record balance changes, and likewise, a blockchain can exist which is not used for recording accounts or spendable outputs. The "crypto" shorthand emerged from the cryptocurrency side, which by and large, uses cryptographic primitives in order to spend and receive value. One further bit worth adding is that the market demand for cryptocurrencies broadly has directed massive amounts of resources towards the development of novel cryptographic primitives.

munchbunny 5y ago

As someone who works on stuff that involves cryptography but not cryptocurrency, I agree, but at this point I consider it a lost cause. Cryptocurrencies have taken over so much of the popular imagination that even when I say "cryptography" I get responses like "oh you mean like Bitcoin?"

eppsilon 5y ago
Kind of like when you use the word "hacker" (as in HN) with a non-technical person. They always assume you mean the black hat kind.

vmception 5y ago

Its called context. A new one was created to convey a shared concept (aka the purpose of language) and will always be more popular than the thing you invested way too much time into to change. It’ll sting at first but time to accept that and update your lexicon.

baby 5y ago

Heh, I think that ship has sailed and it’s a waste of time to argue over the real meaning “crypto” should have

steveEnix 5y ago

This is a very prescriptive approach to language, as in prescribing meaning to words. It's a philosophy of fixed meaning that does not allow language to evolve. The alternative camp would be descriptive, as in allow language to evolve and define its rules based on how people actually use it. At the end of the day it's not one or the other, but a balance... your objection seems rather attached to the usage you know. Recognizing this dichotomy is useful when thinking about shared values, such as programming styles, ethics, and money. DFW's Consider the Lobster has an essay called "Authority and American Usage" that covers it well, originally printed here: https://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads/HarpersMagazine-2001-04-0070913.pdf https://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads/HarpersMagazine-2001-...

sneak 5y ago

"crypto" means hidden/concealed, if we're going to go there. I sometimes use the term "cryptoracist" but I had to stop because most people don't know what κρυπτός means.

garmaine 5y ago

Crypto means cryptozoology!

B-Con 5y ago

I moderate r/crypto . It's about cryptography, not cryptocurrency. Imagine the spam we get.

bitxbitxbitcoin 5y ago
Not all heroes wear capes. I'm also a mod on some subs so I can only imagine the spam you get.