(Roughly) Daily

In the wake of the collapse of FTX, the world of Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is in chaos; some wonder if crypto is dead (and here). But the underlying technology, the blockchain, still has much to offer, Dimitry Mihaylov argues– especially in the realm of science and innovation…

In the last few years, we have seen several use cases of the blockchain. From gaming to education, nothing has been off-limits for this revolutionary technology. Today, we see it emerging into more significant and nuanced fields across the spectrum. DeSci, or Decentralized Science, is one of the trends that has seen blockchain moving into the critical field of scientific research and development.

DeSci is an example of practical blockchain usage in order to establish a public infrastructure for creating, funding, crediting, reviewing, storing, and distributing scientific knowledge fairly and equitably. It’s an ecosystem where scientists and research contributors are incentivized for sharing their studies and knowledge. It then makes that knowledge publicly accessible to anyone across the Web.

DeSci is based on the fundamental ideology that scientific knowledge should be accessible and available to anyone, and the process of any scientific research should be transparent. It’s a rather revolutionary Web3 movement that can transform the legacy practices of scientific research and funding within academia. It also facilitates the work of innovative companies by providing them with direct contact with the best scientists.

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The full acceptance of DeSci in the global scientific community can create a significant shift in research accessibility and funding – as knowledge will no longer be stored in private repositories. DeSci creates a sustainable model where scientists receive the true value and credit of their work, and knowledgeable data is available for anyone across the world.

His case in full: “How Decentralized Science (DeSci) lowers the Cost of Innovation and Implementation,” from @hackgernoon.

Apposite: “Decentralization.”

For the contra view: “The Underlying Technology Shibboleth” (“The only innovation we’ve seen from blockchain technology is for defrauding investors, facilitating capital destruction, and creating transient, unfair, chaotic dark markets for speculating on hot air”…)

* Leonardo da Vinci

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As we look for wheat in the chaff, we might recall that it was on this date in 1895 that America’s first auto race, the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times-Herald race, was held. There were six contestants, four cars and two motorcycles, competing on a cold and snowy day. Two of the competitors were electric, and quickly failed in the cold. The other four finished the 54 mile (to Evanston and back) circuit; it was won by Frank Duryea‘s Motorized Wagon… though motorcycles (which had appeared in the U.S. only two years earlier) were also winners after a fashion, as they received a great deal of publicity. Electric cars… not so much.

Frank Duryea’s Motorized Wagon (source)