Papers on Fire

October 25 — Academic papers and reports for critical thinking

Dear Adrealm community,

Here’s our bi-monthly rubrica with some interesting contributions to the discourse on blockchain technology from academics.

This week’s theme?

Narrative & Discourses.

Given the assumption that words shape reality and vice versa, and following the Immunological Perspective on Blockchain Tech presented by the Adrealm Editorial Intelligence and Operations Unit Dr Cameron-Perry during our “Taps and Swipes” symposium on blockchain, cryptos, and digital advertising at the CEIBS Campus in Shanghai, we’d like to stress the importance and impact that narratives and a specific terminology exert on reality.

What does the current discussion on blockchain reveal about its speakers?

How does it impact the development of this emerging technology?

How does it influence its potential adopters?

How is it shaping the new generations?

Words are not protected by copyright — statements do, but words can be reused, stretched, modified — do sues still exist in the Twitter era? — and when they’re particularly appealing, when they assertively respond to a collective, psychological feeling, they are quickly grasped, assimilated, absorbed, digested, chewed, and spitted out with an unpredictable power.

As we’ve already stressed in one of our AEIOU articles, the contemporary discourse on blockchain has been largely paired with (blind) beliefs and promises of some sorts of miracle coming from a flawless (?) technology to such extent that antithetical discourses have consequently arisen.

So, browsing new articles to share this week, I bumped into some very enthusiastic articles which — in my personal opinion — do reveal something about ourselves: if we mythologize blockchain technology, then we do not really know it.

Therefore, this week we tried to gather a mix of more and less critical reports on blockchain tech in order to offer a comprehensive overview of the current discourse on blockchain tech.

Sends us your thoughts on the topic, let us know if you do agree, tap us, ping us!

This week’s highlights:

Dr Ellis J Cameron-Perry (2018)

The AEIOU Executive Director’s observations on the article written by Vitalik Buterin, Zoë Hitzig, and E. Glen Weyl entitled “Liberal Radicalism: Formal Rules for a Society Neutral among Communities”.

Jan A. Bergstra, Mark Burgess

Promise Theory and the role of Trust: Using these two concepts as pivots, this piece starts from the very first definition of blockchain, moves to the analysis of its (consensus) mechanisms, without leaving behind the popular Bitcoin blockchain.

The goal of the paper is to cast light on the promises that blockchain technology — better said, that blockchain enthusiasts spread almost as if they were the new Commandments, but which “could turn into future liabilities.”

Is the mythological figure of Satoshi Nakamoto responsible for that, and/or the viral enthusiasm of finally decoupling citizens from powerful third-parties?

Bill Buchanan, Naseem Naqvi (2018)

From the abstract:

..A society where digital economy flourishes irrespective of geopolitical ideologies and where a technology like blockchain holds transformative potential to unite the nations together.

Ehm.

R. Herian (2018)

The global adherence to solutionisms and innovationisms is what produces the “blind” enthusiasm towards block-tech, which are part of some neoliberal economic reasons.

D. Kostakopoulou (2018)

Virtual public spaces of blockchain communities will shape the regional and national policy-making, but its character will be shaped by the actions and intentions of the participants. In other words, a different virtual agora for each context.

More articles

R. Post (2018)

W. Prinz (2018)

R. Webster (2018)

F. Breitinger, I. Baggili, T. Haigh (2018)

Christopher Jones (2018)

Paywall..

F. Allon (2018)