blair_fix

blair_fix, 10 hours ago to random

Backfire on the blockchain!

As Bitcoin hashing tech got more efficient, guess what happened to Bitcoin's energy budget. That's right, it went (way) up. Another example of the Jevons paradox.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/05/18/a-tour-of-the-jevons-paradox-how-energy-efficiency-backfires/

blair_fix, 1 day ago to random

Since the 1940s, computers have grown about a trillion times more efficient. But instead of using this efficiency for resource conservation, we invested it in computational sprawl.

A spectacular example of the Jevons paradox.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/05/18/a-tour-of-the-jevons-paradox-how-energy-efficiency-backfires/

blair_fix, 4 days ago to random

Thinking about backups? Here's my setup using Borg:

https://sciencedesk.economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/05/borg-backups/

blair_fix, 5 days ago to random

Counterintuitively, efficiency is not a tool for conservation. It's a catalyst for technological sprawl.

Here's my deep dive into the Jevons paradox.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/05/18/a-tour-of-the-jevons-paradox-how-energy-efficiency-backfires/

blair_fix, 25 days ago to random

An essay from Branko Milanovic that is shockingly hospitable to degrowth.

https://branko2f7.substack.com/p/abundance-capitalism-and-climate

blair_fix, 1 month ago to random

A little chart to quantify the torture of writing: the number of words written vs words kept for my last post.

The key (and pain) of good writing is tireless rewriting.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/03/21/is-bitcoin-more-energy-intensive-than-mainstream-finance/

blair_fix, 1 month ago to random

Here's the words vs code for my last piece on bitcoin.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/03/21/is-bitcoin-more-energy-intensive-than-mainstream-finance/

blair_fix, 1 month ago to random

Critics often argue that cryptocurrencies are too speculative to be 'real' money. What they seem to miss is that lots of 'real' fiat currencies are highly speculative.

Here's how the volatility of Bitcoin and Ether compare to the exchange-rate volatility of the world's fiat currencies.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/03/21/is-bitcoin-more-energy-intensive-than-mainstream-finance/

blair_fix, 1 month ago to random

Here's the energy intensity of Ethereum relative to mainstream US finance. Can you spot the moment when the blockchain switched from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake?

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/03/21/is-bitcoin-more-energy-intensive-than-mainstream-finance/

blair_fix, 1 month ago to random

Here's the energy intensity of Bitcoin relative to US finance.

Satoshi thought Bitcoin would be an 'order of magnitude' more efficient than mainstream banking. So far, the dream hasn't panned out.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/03/21/is-bitcoin-more-energy-intensive-than-mainstream-finance/

blair_fix, 2 months ago to random

A fascinating PhD thesis from Julien Vastenaekels:

'Degrowth and Capital: Assembling a Power-Centred Theory of Change'

It's a timely study that wrestles with how #degrowth relates to capital accumulation.

https://capitalaspower.com/2024/03/vastenaekels-degrowth-and-capital-assembling-a-power-centred-theory-of-change/

blair_fix, 2 months ago to random

Here's the energy budget of the Bitcoin network. Since 2010, it's electricity thirst has grown by a factor of a million.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/03/21/is-bitcoin-more-energy-intensive-than-mainstream-finance/

blair_fix, 2 months ago to random

Well folks, I've waded into the world of Bitcoin.

We all know the Bitcoin network uses loads of energy. But how does it stack up to mainstream finance? In this post I do the math.

(I'm bracing myself for angry comments.)

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/03/21/is-bitcoin-more-energy-intensive-than-mainstream-finance/

blair_fix, 2 months ago to random

I figured out that I could use wordpress as my RSS feed reader. For those who are interested, here are the blogs in my feed:

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/reading/

blair_fix, 3 months ago to NixOS

A few months ago I started using #NixOS and I was blown away. Then I learned about its design principles and I was even more blown away.

Here's the result: a deep dive into how #unix systems manage software, and how #nix nukes this structure and replaces it with a design fit for the 21st century.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2024/02/17/nixing-technological-lock-in/

blair_fix, 4 months ago to random

Regan Boychuk continues to forge a new history of American meddling in the Canadian oilpatch. Here's installment 6.

https://capitalaspower.com/2024/01/albertas-rockefeller-coups-part-6-the-financial-frauds-of-american-empire-are-driving-climate-disaster-but-both-could-still-be-thwarted/

blair_fix, 4 months ago to random

Happy holidays everyone.

For me, 2023 was a year of research themes. I spent the first half of the year researching interests rates and inflation. Then I spent the second half of the year studying billionaires.

Here were the top 5 posts.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2023/12/29/top-posts-of-2023/

blair_fix, 5 months ago to random

"Head of Loblaws says proposed new rules are bad for business and consumers"

This is billionaires-speak for 'my profits will go down'.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/grocery-prices-loblaws-walmart-1.7051931

blair_fix, 5 months ago to random

Lest Canadians get too smug, just like Americans, we're experiencing a declining life expectancy.

https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/canadian-life-expectancy-is-the-lowest-its-been-in-over-a-decade-says-statscan/article_122d3e04-5f79-5446-8394-fc486129cc55.html

blair_fix, 5 months ago to random

Fun fact: Among the world's billionaires, wealth concentration moves in lock step with the S&P 500.

The question is why?

#billionaires #wealth #inequality

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2023/11/23/stocking-up-on-wealth-concentration/

blair_fix, 6 months ago to random

Peter Thiel says that competition is for losers. He's right of course.

The best way to concentrate wealth is to limit competition and buy your way to power. Here's a look at the evidence.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2023/11/23/stocking-up-on-wealth-concentration/

blair_fix, 6 months ago to random

The disturbing thing about oil company's profit is that it's surprisingly dependent on war in the Middle East.

Bichler and Nitzan have been showing this fact for decades, but it's still not widely know. Here's an update.

https://capitalaspower.com/2023/11/bichler-nitzan-blood-and-oil-in-the-orient-a-2023-update/

blair_fix, 6 months ago to science

Here's the first in a two-part post in which I reflect on the philosophy of science, and the difficulties of challenging academic orthodoxy.

From the archives: "The Challenges of Doing Revolutionary Science"

#science #philosophy

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2020/03/22/the-challenges-of-doing-revolutionary-science-part-1/

blair_fix, 6 months ago to random

When it comes to the stock market, who benefits?

Surprisingly few people, it turns out.

Here is the correlation between income share and the stock-market-to-gdp ratio for every US income percentile.

For a shocking 87% of people, a rising stock market comes with a declining share of income.

https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/2023/10/28/when-stocks-go-up-who-benefits/

blair_fix, 6 months ago (edited 6 months ago) to random

Cory Doctorow (@pluralistic)
comments on the business definition of IP:

"When a business person says they have – or want – IP, what they mean is “any law, rule or standard that allows me to control the conduct of my competitors, critics and customers.”"

https://capitalaspower.com/2023/10/how-trade-secrets-swallowed-your-right-to-know/