Pages:
Author

Topic: Bitcoin's White Paper Isn't Just Words – It's a Constitution - page 2. (Read 299 times)

full member
Activity: 364
Merit: 105
WPP ENERGY - BACKED ASSET GREEN ENERGY TOKEN
I don't believe there should be a set in stone constitution of any sort, be that for bitcoin or for a country. The world we live in is constantly adapting and so should our direction be, there will have been so many developments since satoshi's white paper that even he didn't envisage that it's impossible to cover everything. While Satoshi is undoubtedly one of the great minds of our generation he's most definitely not a psychic.

a constitution should not be a complete rulebook of all law. but an essential baseline of minimum standard expectation.

EG. not a right to freedom. as that automatically makes prisons illegal, thus making crime non-punishable.
but a right to breath, talk, walk. is an acceptable minimum..(you can still breathe, walk and talk in prison)

Is it really necessary to have a constitution to tell people that they have the right to breathe, walk and talk? Breathing isn't really a right either because it's impossible to live without it, it's a necessity. Even that isn't protected by a constitution given that the death penalty exists.

Either way that's too much on the political stand and I understand the point you were trying to make, it's that there should be some basic guidelines in place for the development, implementation etc without there being anything that is too set in stone that it is not adaptable to the current situation.
legendary
Activity: 4410
Merit: 4766
a bitcoin constitution should be the basic ethics of what bitcoin should always stand for and be allowed to do.
this does not mean a rulebook that covers all eventualities of every possible little detail. but a broad ethos of basic understanding

laws LIMIT what people can do.
constitutions ALLOW a minimum standard of what people can do or expect without question or resistance

i just wonder. while people interrpret the bitcoin whitepaper.
what 'constitutional acts/rights' would they list if there was to be a constitution.
in short if we used this topic to write a list of 'rights'. could we all agree

EG if someone mentioned permissionless... how many would argue about multisigs
EG if someone mentioned borderless... how many would argue about fee's out pricing certain 3rd world countries from affordably using it
EG if someone mentioned borderless... how many would argue about cores roadmap of follow their roadmap or F**k off
EG if someone mentioned peer to peer.. how many would argue about escrows, and pools rejecting tx's due to low fee
newbie
Activity: 88
Merit: 0
The entire purpose of blockchain technology and Bitcoin is that it is a decentralized system. So, no, I don’t believe that whitepaper should be a constitution. We have to understand that because new technologies are being delivered every second, things are constantly shifting and changing their direction. Things have changed quite a bit since Satoshi’s whitepaper and while it is true that he is the founder, even he cannot envision the future and what it holds for the Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
qwk
donator
Activity: 3542
Merit: 3413
Shitcoin Minimalist
When those interested in bitcoin as an idea differ on the direction of a project, they can choose from several options:
* Interpret the original texts in the way that they believe was intended
* Adapt the text or keep it fixed and rigid (like a Constitution)
* Adapt the text, change it and make it different
* Disregard it or propose something potentially better
The point here is that the above statement can be misunderstood very easily.
A constitution is not meant to be "carved in stone".
It sets out some general rules, "best practices", whatever you may call it, to govern the process of adapting a society's laws to meet the actual needs of their time.
Following that logic, you may easily call Satoshi's Whitepaper a "constitution" of some sort.
If, on the other hand, you were to conclude that nothing whatsoever may ever be changed at all, you're no longer talking about a constitution, but rather about scripture.

I guess what Bruce Fenton meant is an adaptable set of rules, but it's not really clear from his wording.
In which case I agree.
legendary
Activity: 4410
Merit: 4766
I don't believe there should be a set in stone constitution of any sort, be that for bitcoin or for a country. The world we live in is constantly adapting and so should our direction be, there will have been so many developments since satoshi's white paper that even he didn't envisage that it's impossible to cover everything. While Satoshi is undoubtedly one of the great minds of our generation he's most definitely not a psychic.

a constitution should not be a complete rulebook of all law. but an essential baseline of minimum standard expectation.

EG. not a right to freedom. as that automatically makes prisons illegal, thus making crime non-punishable.
but a right to breath, talk, walk. is an acceptable minimum..(you can still breathe, walk and talk in prison)
full member
Activity: 364
Merit: 105
WPP ENERGY - BACKED ASSET GREEN ENERGY TOKEN
I don't believe there should be a set in stone constitution of any sort, be that for bitcoin or for a country. The world we live in is constantly adapting and so should our direction be, there will have been so many developments since satoshi's white paper that even he didn't envisage that it's impossible to cover everything. While Satoshi is undoubtedly one of the great minds of our generation he's most definitely not a psychic.
legendary
Activity: 4410
Merit: 4766
many people say the whitepaper needs changing and is out of date and should instead treat the core roadmap as the constitution
(facepalm)
yea they want to go against satoshis vision and instead treat core as the monarchy of the network.

but as for a constitution. many interpret it different ways
take the american right to bare arms

... here's your bare arms


(constitution does not mention fully automatic machine guns, rifles)
newbie
Activity: 79
Merit: 0
Bruce Fenton, CEO of Atlantic Financial, founder of Chainstone Labs, host of the Satoshi Roundtable and board member of Medici Ventures wrote a opinion piece on Coindesk yesterday about Bitcoin's White Paper and how it isn't just a marketing or legal document.... it is a Constitution. According to Fenton, "The bitcoin white paper changed how money can work, yes, but less discussed – and even more important – is how it is changing how we share and place value on ideas." I was wondering what people's thoughts were of this point of view? Do you believe it is correct or a little wayward?

Opinion piece can be found at https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoins-white-paper-isnt-just-words-its-a-constitution/
Pages:
Jump to: