Comments for The Bucky-Gandhi Design Institution

Comment on Taking a crack at a practical system (introducing the ESCROWNYM) by Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:07:08 +0000

I like what you’re trying to do here, but where I’m having a problem with it is the idea that your “trial-by-jury” model would hold up under the sort of coercive force that a modern police state can bring to bear.

In other words, from a nation-state perspective, how much really difference is there between coercing or subverting one person to reveal an identity and coercing, say, twelve people? It might take a little more time, but the outcome is probably the same…

Comment on On the ethics (and pragmatics) of cryptography by The Bucky-Gandhi Design Institution › Taking a crack at a practical system (introducing the ESCROWNYM)

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:17:14 +0000

[...] (You may well want to read the two previous blog posts which go along with this one to understand the whole mindset behind this piece, but that’s about 6K words total, so… On Undesigning the Cryptographic Utopia and On the Ethics and Pragmatics of Cryptography) [...]

Comment on On Un-Designing the Cryptographic Utopia by The Bucky-Gandhi Design Institution › Taking a crack at a practical system (introducing the ESCROWNYM)

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:15:29 +0000

[...] to understand the whole mindset behind this piece, but that’s about 6K words total, so… On Undesigning the Cryptographic Utopia and On the Ethics and Pragmatics of [...]

Comment on On Un-Designing the Cryptographic Utopia by The Bucky-Gandhi Design Institution › Taking a crack at a practical system (introducing the ESCROWNYN)

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 23:14:59 +0000

[...] to understand the whole mindset behind this piece, but that’s about 6K words total, so… On Undesigning the Cryptographic Utopia and On the Ethics and Pragmatics of [...]

Comment on On the ethics (and pragmatics) of cryptography by The Bucky-Gandhi Design Institution › On Un-Designing the Cryptographic Utopia

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:09:18 +0000

[...] let’s nail down a few basics. In the previous post on the ethics and pragmatics of cryptography I fleshed out some of the political background. Now let’s have a think about system design in [...]

Comment on On the ethics (and pragmatics) of cryptography by Chris Naden

Chris Naden — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:47:09 +0000

Firstly; you have a missing tag at the end of the second set of bullet points.

Secondly; this is superb! You’ve captured very well something I’ve been trying to frame for a number of years now about why I’m uncomfortable with internet-generation thinking about the state.

It’s too much like /r/atheism’s approach to religion. The logic goes: I live in America, where the problems with religion come from Protestant fundamentalists, and their enemies, the Islamic fundamentalists. Neither side makes sense, therefore all religion leads to imperialism, domestic violence and switching your brain off at the door.

They have failed to realise that both sides of that argument follow the same god, and are part of only one, very specific, relatively young, family of religions.

Too many people I’ve known on the internet have started from 1. This state has gone rogue and gone straight to 3. States are intrinsically rogues, without contemplating 2. Because we the people did not prevent it.

Comment on The Social Thermometer by The Bucky-Gandhi Design Institution › Five verses on the gap, and addendum

The Bucky-Gandhi Design Institution › Five verses on the gap, and addendum — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:45:50 +0000

[...] was taught about this in detail. I’ve taken some of that work and turned it into the social thermometer. Other parts are metabolized into the Awful Play, the Musical Comedy from Hell, which I will not [...]

Comment on Four Facets of Forty (FFfF) by Vinay Gupta

Vinay Gupta — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:41:41 +0000

Read the Long Telegram, George Kennan’s outline of what became the Policy of Containment, where the US contained the USSR and attempted to stop the spread of communism, rather than attempting to defeat and destroy them for *forty years.*

The US military predictive model was that inefficiencies inherent in a command economy would destroy Communism, and they *waited for forty years* for it to happen.

The patience and humanity of this strategy – indeed its *wisdom* – cannot be overstated.

This is what men like us did in the 1950s, Kevin.

Comment on Four Facets of Forty (FFfF) by Ansuman

Ansuman — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:24:39 +0000

Hey Vinay,don’t have a crisis. Just integrate. Macro and micro can be one cosmos. Beauty, as you imply, is not just skin deep. Connecting your global thinking with your moment-by-moment action is what’s really helpful and beautiful. For that you have to treat your own body as part of the system under scrutiny.
But you don’t need advice. I’m grateful for your honesty. Sorry I haven’t been at the Hub more lately. Wish I could be a better friend. In my absence I’m sending warm wishes your way.

Comment on Four Facets of Forty (FFfF) by Kevin Carson

Kevin Carson — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:18:54 +0000

Thanks, Vinay.

I’ve got a shitload of Boyd’s lectures downloaded in pdf form, and I need to start digging into them ASAP. About all I know of him is the OODA loop, as refracted through John Robb’s writing (although that’s a hell of a useful tool, as is).