Vitalik Buterin: belief

Transcript context

…Would you say you were more influenced by blogs and internet thinking versus books? I definitely did all the standard round of books of the internet hive mind, at least what the libertarian hive mind told you to read back then. I went through Ayn Rand. I went through Human Action. Went through all of the standard good stuff at the time. I definitely, yes, probably moved over to being more blog-driven somewhat later. I think nearer the beginning, I was more seeking out one or a very small number of big ideas that would explain a whole bunch of things. I guess I became somewhat more intellectually pluralist over time. I think to Alex’s point about the folks who’ve been influenced — like Vitalik and myself — I think it’s not just the direct influence, but it’s also the community of readers. There are so many people who are now close friends of mine, who first discovered me via MR, and now, in a very offline way, we’re good friends. There’s this second- and third-order effect of these communities. I do think that’s what’s rare about MR — Jeff, you’ve pointed this out — just the richness in the comment section. It’s its own social network. The layers of influence is not just one degree. It’s the offline communities that get built, the genuine friendships. Have there been any marriages that have come out of MR?…

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