I am born and brought up in Pune, India. Pune is by and large one of the safest and the most peaceful city in India. However, this city has been infamous because of 2 people : Nathuram Godse (assassin of Mahatma Gandhi) and Rajneesh Osho.
I always wanted to know more about both of them and the amazing play “Mi Nathuram Godse Boltoy” (This Is Nathuram Godse Speaking )and then the book on the same topic gave me deep insights on the human side of Nathuram Godse.
However, Rajneesh Osho was kind of this enigmatic figure with philosophies deeply against conservative Indian culture and there was hardly any unbiased material available. So, when Netflix released a 6 part docu-series on Rajneesh Osho titled Wild Wild Country then I knew I had to leave it all and binge on it.
But as I watched it a scary thought sent chills through my spine.
I was watching glimpses of myself, people in my professional circles and the online communities I follow.
There was hardly any difference in the cultism and tribalism that is far too common in Blockchainers as it was in the disciples (or sannyasin as they were called) of Rajneesh
So our story starts in a small hitherto unknown American town of Antelope.
Traditional socially acceptable way of life
Same routine lifestyle — governance mechanism etc. System has lots of problems like failing infrastructure etc but people are in comfort zone and are overall happy with the way things are in a sleepy American town. Further reading: Failed human experiment of communism is well and alive in one part of the world — Kerala, India
In security contexts — and especially in cryptography — Trusted is an epithet. In fact it’s almost an obscenity. Trusted means something or someone has the power to break your security by acting in bad faith. Every Trusted role is, by definition, a weakness in security.— Ray Dillinger (early Bitcoin code reviewer). Further reading: If I’d Known What We Were Starting
Cryptocurrency is existing digital money where no single party/ person has more authority than others (decentralized), the monetary policy is part of code which cannot be changed and is programmable in nature. Further reading: Smart Contracts: Building Blocks for Digital Markets (Nick Szabo who introduced the concept of smart contracts way back in 90s)
Early adopters
Tone Vays an-VP at JP Morgan Chase has been very active in spreading the relevance and importance of this technology as it helps promote economic freedom. He is often called as a Bitcoin maximalist.
Toronto has the strongest Blockchain community where there is representation from people from all backgrounds. It is home to Bitcoin core developer, Enterprise participation, groups dedicated to women in blockchain etc. Do check the awesome community of https://cryptochicks.ca/
Community Rules & Laws
Core of blockchain philosophy questions the existing financial system and traditional governance mechanisms. It has already shown the potential and purists believe that it can entirely replace any manual intervention in both of them. Further reading: Bitcoin Realism or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love 1MB Blocks
Further reading- Wired: The Untold story of Silk Road. Part 1 | Part 2
Arrests of the biggest proponents of the community
Further reading: Using The Blockchain To Change Prisons. At this point, I have to confess that I have deep respect for Charlie Shrem and he is the *ONLY* blockchainer whom I follow inspite of being a criminal (only from traditional societal view and not mine).
Blockchain is still well alive and the community is growing. Bitcoin has been declared dead more than 300 times, but each time it has come back stronger. There are thousands who are in it for the tech and not the $ value associated with the cryptocurrency. The brilliance of these innovative people is what keeps the dreams and hopes of millions of us well and alive. Hopefully we all will see the day when Bitcoin is accepted as one of the alternative financial systems of the world.
Please note: Rajneesh and his core group were outright criminals. The comparison is only about we, in the blockchain community, thinking of being part of a grand experiment for social good. However, many times we forget it is our version of the truth and not the ultimate truth. Blockchain has the potential to transform our lives for better but is yet far from achieving this dream. Although while watching the documentary I did find striking similarities between core Rajneesh group and early adopters/ thought leaders in Blockchain, I am merely comparing the philosophical promise given by both and the cultism of their followers.— -
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