The Man Who Identified Satoshi Nakamoto?

On May 11, 2013, I posted the ABC-BTC conjecture on my blog. The ABC-BTC conjecture states that Satoshi Nakamoto is Shinichi Mochizuki.

I posted this theory to Reddit, but was censored. I was told that "gossip relating to real life details of people against their wishes is against Reddit Terms of Service."

On May 12, 2013, I emailed Dr. Shinichi Mochizuki, apologizing for the intrusion, and asking him to comment on my theory. He hasn't responded, as of now.

A whole week later, Ted Nelson posted a video to YouTube, rehashing my theory. Reddit did not censor Ted Nelson's video.

These were my feelings:

"Who is this fucker, stealing my thunder? Why hasn't Reddit censored him? Why has he injected himself in the middle, instead of getting to the point? Why the cheap dramatics and the bad Dr. Watson impression? Why is he so certain that my theory is true? It's just a theory, with plenty of plausible deniability. Why has he put Shinichi Mochizuki on a pedestal? Why is he trying to speak Japanese? Mochizuki understands English perfectly well. Gimme a break! I am from India, but if you call me Guru, I'll punch you!"

Now, my feelings have changed.

I realize that Ted Nelson has better established credentials than I.

So it is natural that the mainstream would attribute the theory to him, even though I published it first. Ted Nelson has admitted that he was not the first person to publish this theory online, although he claims that he reached his conclusions independently. This is hard to believe, since Ted could have found my post with a simple Google search for "Satoshi Nakamoto" and "Shinichi Mochizuki".

The dramatics are necessary, so the audience feels the thrill of unwrapping a mystery slowly.

Discovering new things and solving mysteries is the essence of Mathematics.

Check my tweetstream ( @purrperl ) to verify my story.

Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto Identified?

Here's my wild-ass guess for today: Bitcoin Creator Satoshi Nakamoto is really Japanese mathematician Shinichi Mochizuki. Let's examine the evidence:

1. Requisite level of mathematical genius; specifically, work on Number Theory.
2. Male, Japanese, 40-ish, living in Japan.
3. Nakamoto is fluent in English. Mochizuki grew up in the USA.
4. Elusive, reclusive behavior.
5. Same number of Hiragana symbols in first and last names of the two identities.
6. Some have speculated, based on v0.1 of bitcoin code, that the creator was someone with a lot of theoretical knowledge, but not a professional programmer.
7. Caroline Chen's article, "The Paradox of The Proof" doesn't mention bitcoin, but gives a glimpse into the mind of Shinichi Mochizuki. Read this very interesting article, and draw your own conclusions.


Sources:

1. Satoshi Nakamoto


2. The Race to Unmask Bitcoin's Inventor(s)


3. The Paradox of The Proof

Bitcoin's Potential for Social Change

Perhaps Professor Krugman is too hasty in calling bitbugs "antisocial". Bitcoin encourages secessionist tendencies, yet holds great potential for social change. What if the World Peace movement collectively transitioned to bitcoin? It would be possible for the people to negotiate peace with their warmongering governments.

Perhaps we will see the emergence of a self-contained, underground economy that chooses its own values. The bitcoin economy would perhaps do away with the real/perceived hypocrisy of political discourse.

Will this bitcoin-enabled New World Order be egalitarian? I don't think so. Early adopters, such as the Winklevoss twins, already have a significant advantage in the bitcoin universe. Question is, can we trust our new cyberpunk overlords?

Character is what one does, when nobody is looking. Bitcoin models reality much closer to human nature. Will the human civilization annihilate itself? Will we survive and thrive? We'll just have to trust human nature.

What will it take to bring about this self-fulfilling prophecy? What kind of infrastructure should bitbugs be building?
An easier, more private way of doing bitcoin transactions via cheap, ubiquitous devices, such as smartphones. Applications such as Bitcoin Wallet already enable this.
Yet, a tipping point hasn't been reached. I still think primarily in USD. When I think in a BTC-centric way, the world will be different.

In my opinion, bitcoin is full of open questions, and opportunities. I remain cautiously optimistic about it.

Full disclosure: I own 4 BTC which I bought at 5 USD/BTC.

Education: India and USA

I studied Mechanical Engineering for a year, in India.
I studied Computer Science for several years in the USA.
I have an inkling of how to contrast these two educational systems.
In the spirit of "release early, release often", I am publishing my current opinions, and inviting feedback.

Education in India:

        Characteristics:
                Teachers are given high respect, and treated as virtually infallible.
                Rote memorization was emphasized.
                Books and calculators were not allowed on tests.

        Advantages:
                Students learned to do quick calculations in their heads.
                Students retain more material.

        Disadvantages:
                Teachers were not questioned enough.
                The student's imagination and creativity were not emphasized enough.

        Recommendations:
                Include Art and Humanities courses to round-out the curriculum.
                Use free software.
                Expose all students to elementary computer programming.

Education in USA:

        Characteristics:
                Emphasis on inuition and understanding.
                Books and calculators were allowed in some tests.
                Critical thinking encouraged.

        Advantages:
                Students integrate more material.

        Disadvantages:
                Students can't do quick and dirty calculations in their heads.
                There is far less rigor than is needed for success.

        Recommendations:
                Use free software.

Dark Confessional mined for a Silver Lining

I cheated on tests. I subverted the Honor Code at my alma mater. In retrospect, I rationalize myself thus -- imagination is more important than knowledge.

I believe that all tests should be open. During the test, you should be allowed to use books, computers, workshops, tools. Use anything that is handy. And can we please drop the word "standardized"? There is nothing standard about a human being that you can test for. Everyone is unique, just like me.

Passing tests

What is life?
Living things move. Sand dunes shift in the wind.
Living things can reproduce. Every moment, there are more grains of sand in the desert, than the moment before.
Living things respond to stimuli. You can shape a sand pile with your hand.

What is intelligence?
Intelligent things can pass the Turing test, administered by a human. Silcon-based computers can beat human Chess grandmasters.

What is love?
Baby don't hurt me, no more.

India and Open-Source Software

Why India should use Open-Source Software:

Advantages:

1. Get software peer-reviewed by the world's largest software community.

2. Improve national security.

3. Reduce national spending.

4. Reduce foreign debt.

5. Build a stronger educational foundation, especially in Computer Science.

6. Join a common ecosystem of co-prosperity with China.

Disadvantages:

1. Initial cost to make the transition.

How should India use Open-Source Software?

1. Create a national Operating System distribution derived from Ubuntu Linux.

2. Mandate the use of the national distribution for all branches of government, and in public education.

3. Teach only non-proprietary programming languages in the Computer Science curriculum.

What may happen if India uses Open-Source Software?

1. Online support services will be built up in several local languages, to answer frequently asked questions about Open-Source software. Efforts like this are best left up to free enterprise.

2. Indian Computer Science students will gain deeper insights and a competitive advantage.