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Len Sassaman and Satoshi: A cypherpunk history

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Re: Len Sassaman and Satoshi: A cypherpunk history

#101

Post by lottin »

futurepast wrote: post #82
jjordan wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's Nick Szabo. This is the article that convinced me: https://www.bitcoininsider.org/article/78686/i-designed-bitc...

It's 100% Nick Szabo with Hal Finney's help. There's a non-zero chance that there's an NSA/IC employee who worked with them. Just based on the 1996 NSA paper "How to Make a Mint" and the potential that a government cryptocurrency is the ultimate solution for the inflation problem. Regulated stablecoins and/or a CBDC is the perfect way to disintermediate the banks from the dollar. Source: speculation but I was around…

The "inflation problem" is not perceived as a problem by hardly anyone (certainly not by a government agency) since central banks around the world have shown that they are very capable of keeping inflation near the intended target. And the idea that the NSA thinks a cryptocurrency would be a solution to such a non-existent problem is even more bizarre.

Re: Len Sassaman and Satoshi: A cypherpunk history

#102

Post by lottin »

trixie_ wrote: post #37

My money is on Paul Le Roux.. most hackers are too uppity to write windows software. Le Roux was a pragmatist with a real practical need to move dirty money without banks.

I don't know that creating an whole new currency can be considered a "practical solution" to the need of having to move dirty money around. Surely there must be easier ways to achieve that goal and with a higher chance of success as well.

Re: Len Sassaman and Satoshi: A cypherpunk history

#103

Post by hatmatrix »

sneak wrote: post #3

While I didn't know Len, I've talked to a fair number of people who knew him well (including the person who put that ascii art portrait of him into the blockchain), and none of them have expressed strong agreement with this theory. All we know for sure about Satoshi is that s/he isn't Craig Wright.

I know he's failed to prove it (embarrassingly), but I feel like it's not implausible that it was him and the late Dave Kleinman together as he claims. The mixing of British and American English and time zone issue then makes sense. Also, that Craig Wright boldly claims to be Satoshi likely means he is involved somehow, as he should otherwise fear that the real Satoshi call him out. It may be that Kleinman was the gear-to-the-metal guy and that's why Wright cannot prove his identity (but is somehow too proud to admit it - he's not entirely right in the head either).

Not everything checks out and everything may not have happened exactly as Wright claims, but I have trouble completely writing him off.

Re: Len Sassaman and Satoshi: A cypherpunk history

#104

Post by lostmsu »

ari__ wrote: post #87
trixie_ wrote: post #37

My money is on Paul Le Roux.. most hackers are too uppity to write windows software. Le Roux was a pragmatist with a real practical need to move dirty money without banks.

Most hackers I know write software for pretty much any other OS because of how much easier it is than writing software for Windows, not because they're uppity. Some may be ideological purists, sure, but I think you'd be very hard pressed to find a hacker that says the developer experience on Windows is easier/nicer/better than the developer experience on Linux or MacOS.

It is 50/50 for me between Carmack and Torvalds. 2/1 if you add Satoshi.

Re: Len Sassaman and Satoshi: A cypherpunk history

#105

Post by starfallg »

temp8964 wrote: post #28
panorama wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because Satoshi's identity and whether or not they were a singular individual or a group of individuals is unknown. It is entirely acceptable, and more often than not probabilistically and politically correct, to use they/them here. I doubt anyone would be upset at people using he/him when referring to Satoshi, but also along those same lines, it seems strange to be upset at they/them usage for an unknown entity.

I think the author of the article already assumes Satoshi is a single person. The name is simply a Japanese male name. So it is obviously wrong to call him "they". This kind of stupidity only works in Woke English. Translate it to most other languages will make the readers deeply confused: what's wrong with the writer? What's going on in his mind?

Can you take this culture war garbage back to Gab or whatever? We don't need more pointless division (and this goes for both sides).

Re: Len Sassaman and Satoshi: A cypherpunk history

#106

Post by freyir »

doopy1 wrote: post #45
jjordan wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's Nick Szabo. This is the article that convinced me: https://www.bitcoininsider.org/article/78686/i-designed-bitc...

Nah, it was Paul Le Roux https://www.wired.com/story/was-bitcoin-created-by-this-inte...

Seems a bit far-fetched that the guy creating Bitcoin was also building up a global criminal empire. I’m sure Paul is a very talented guy, but there are only so many hours in a day. The article’s author even admits it’s a stretch by the end of the article.

Re: Len Sassaman and Satoshi: A cypherpunk history

#107

Post by vecplane »

temp8964 wrote: post #28
panorama wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because Satoshi's identity and whether or not they were a singular individual or a group of individuals is unknown. It is entirely acceptable, and more often than not probabilistically and politically correct, to use they/them here. I doubt anyone would be upset at people using he/him when referring to Satoshi, but also along those same lines, it seems strange to be upset at they/them usage for an unknown entity.

I think the author of the article already assumes Satoshi is a single person. The name is simply a Japanese male name. So it is obviously wrong to call him "they". This kind of stupidity only works in Woke English. Translate it to most other languages will make the readers deeply confused: what's wrong with the writer? What's going on in his mind?

Thank you for understanding what I'm trying to get at.

It's unfortunate that so many other people here fail to grasp the harm that this is doing to written and spoken English.

Re: Len Sassaman and Satoshi: A cypherpunk history

#108

Post by trixie_ »

lottin wrote: post #102
trixie_ wrote: post #37

My money is on Paul Le Roux.. most hackers are too uppity to write windows software. Le Roux was a pragmatist with a real practical need to move dirty money without banks.

I don't know that creating an whole new currency can be considered a "practical solution" to the need of having to move dirty money around. Surely there must be easier ways to achieve that goal and with a higher chance of success as well.

For him an encryption/programming expert it might of been. There were posts back in 2005 about how to design a 'bit gold' and he was already jumping through hoops to launder money to gold bars through hong kong with all kinds of problems. The motivation was there.

Re: Len Sassaman and Satoshi: A cypherpunk history

#109

Post by trixie_ »

ari__ wrote: post #87
trixie_ wrote: post #37

My money is on Paul Le Roux.. most hackers are too uppity to write windows software. Le Roux was a pragmatist with a real practical need to move dirty money without banks.

Most hackers I know write software for pretty much any other OS because of how much easier it is than writing software for Windows, not because they're uppity. Some may be ideological purists, sure, but I think you'd be very hard pressed to find a hacker that says the developer experience on Windows is easier/nicer/better than the developer experience on Linux or MacOS.

People who write open source windows software are looked down upon. Your typical hacker especially in the 90s/00s - Microsoft was the evil empire.
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