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I feel the opposite way. Like you, I don’t understand most of these terms. But I love reading Vitalik’s posts because it feels like a glimpse into how computer

I feel the opposite way. Like you, I don’t understand most of these terms. But I love reading Vitalik’s posts because it feels like a glimpse into how computer scientists will talk about code in the distant future. To me, Vitalik’s brain is like 50 years ahead of the rest of us. I also trust him to speak as plainly and concisely as possible. I get the same rush from reading these posts as watching a great sci-fi film, except it’s not fiction. It’s (mostly) real.

dleeftink 3y ago
I too, am a sucker for a good technisized metaphor or analogy, and do not wish for any technical language to vanish or stall. However, when scifi-esque terms flow over into the real world and affect the livelihoods of real people, jargon only benefits the few who have the luxury to dabble in its lexicon. Why not make it as accessible by default?
barneygale 3y ago
Parasocial technology fetishism. Gross.
- oreally 3y ago
  Yea it's typical idolism, a great flaw of humanity. Vitalik has a young man's mind and will make the young man's mistakes.
lxgr 3y ago
I feel like you're actually describing something important here, socially/psychologically, about the appeal of Ethereum and related crypto technologies. There's a certain appeal to incredibly complex systems, at least to some people, and there can be joy in going so deep in a complex system that you and your peers are creating, you get to forget about any painful interaction points with the larger world in which it exists and by which it will still always be constrained. Without understanding this emotion and motivation, it can be baffling to see where the ideas of crypto take people, because at face value, it just doesn't make a lot of sense sometimes.
lawn 3y ago
It's like magic. When you don't understand it, it seems inscrutable and anyone who does seems like a genius. When you understand it, it becomes boring and often trivial. I can assure you that Vitalik isn't some kind of Uber genius who is 50 years ahead of everyone. Not even Einstein was, and he was much farther away than Vitalik is. You can enjoy it as some sort of entertainment, but don't extrapolate it too far.

dleeftink 3y ago

I too, am a sucker for a good technisized metaphor or analogy, and do not wish for any technical language to vanish or stall. However, when scifi-esque terms flow over into the real world and affect the livelihoods of real people, jargon only benefits the few who have the luxury to dabble in its lexicon. Why not make it as accessible by default?

barneygale 3y ago

Parasocial technology fetishism. Gross.

oreally 3y ago
Yea it's typical idolism, a great flaw of humanity. Vitalik has a young man's mind and will make the young man's mistakes.

lxgr 3y ago

I feel like you're actually describing something important here, socially/psychologically, about the appeal of Ethereum and related crypto technologies. There's a certain appeal to incredibly complex systems, at least to some people, and there can be joy in going so deep in a complex system that you and your peers are creating, you get to forget about any painful interaction points with the larger world in which it exists and by which it will still always be constrained. Without understanding this emotion and motivation, it can be baffling to see where the ideas of crypto take people, because at face value, it just doesn't make a lot of sense sometimes.

lawn 3y ago

It's like magic. When you don't understand it, it seems inscrutable and anyone who does seems like a genius. When you understand it, it becomes boring and often trivial. I can assure you that Vitalik isn't some kind of Uber genius who is 50 years ahead of everyone. Not even Einstein was, and he was much farther away than Vitalik is. You can enjoy it as some sort of entertainment, but don't extrapolate it too far.