Chapter 19 - Certainty Attained? A summary…

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Chapter 19

Certainty Attained? A summary… 

Achieving certainty as to the identity of someone that has been anonymous for so long is not an easy task.  Nor is it something that should be taken lightly as to the implications of such an effort.  Particularly, given the measures taken by a person which clearly wishes to remain anonymous.  It is an assemblance of puzzle pieces that ultimately achieves that certainty and not one particular piece of information.  But once the puzzle is assembled, then what? Is it enough to retain that information and simply go on a path in silence never to divulge it?  Or to come out and reveal to the world what one knows subject to any number of game theory type outcomes?   The path chosen will vary by individual and all I can say is this book is the summation of that thought exercise.  

Will this author reveal who this person with such a grand vision is? Not under any circumstance, but one. If the person that is known as Satoshi Nakamoto wanted it to be the case.  We already know the great lengths that Satoshi Nakamoto took to be anonymous and remain anonymous. 

However, this author has laid out a reasonable characterization of the person that is Satoshi Nakamoto while maintaining his anonymity.  The following is a summary of some of what has been described in this book:

1. October 31st is an important date to Satoshi Nakamoto and this author.  The importance of this date extends beyond the White Paper release and release of this book.

2. The name, Satoshi Nakamoto, is strikingly similar to a great visionary and influential person during the time in question.  This possible influence for the pseudonym was found following a bread crumb trail of information from what the author knows of Satoshi Nakamoto.  

3. Patent experience relative to the aspects of bitcoin and the person the author believes to be Satoshi Nakamoto. 

4. Publicly attributable and available communications in style, response tone, and technical knowhow that match the person the author believes to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

5. Living circumstance, the author had observed which is consistent with publicly messaged information later (e.g. floorboard electric heating just as one instance)

6. Timeline for our paths to cross and my early communications with this person believed to be Satoshi Nakamoto.

7. Persona: let's just say the person this author knew was not a social butterfly when we crossed paths nor an extrovert and had a very limited circle of contact.  Observed behaviors would be consistent with the communications known to be from Satoshi Nakamoto.

8. The author’s awareness of this person’s technical expertise and exceptional intelligence which could be at a level capable of initiating something of this nature.

9. This person the author knew wanted an early computer test-run of relatable file to the topic.

10. Reading by this author of a draft version of relatable information prior to the public release of the bitcoin White Paper in 2008.  

11. This author was close enough to the situation to have limited information shared in a conceptual manner, yet sufficiently distant for it all to occur.  A perfect alignment of stars in both time and space.  

Broadly speaking, it’s the accumulation of all the puzzle pieces assembled that provides certainty of the person known as Satoshi Nakamoto to this author.   It would be difficult for this author to affirm with just one piece of information known. Even reading an early draft unpublished version of the White Paper does not in itself convince oneself this is the case. It's that in combination with my known timeline, together with conversations broadly on related matters, and the many other pieces of this puzzle which in summation is undeniable in my mind. For some, this will not be enough, and I recognize this.  However, any more detail or connection of information would jeopardize revealing someone's identity which clearly does not want that to occur. This desired privacy must be respected – and protected.  Not just for Satoshi Nakamoto but for people in society who wish a level of privacy and within limitations and appropriate application. 

Although it was the accumulated pieces of the puzzle that provided this author the assurance of the final image, singularly speaking the one piece of the puzzle to point to was the read and conversation of what I now know to be a draft version of the Bitcoin White Paper.  I have certainty of the timeframe being prior to the public release in 2008. And I know the general scope of the content as well as the conversation I had with this person at the time.  There is no doubt in my mind that as I verified certain aspects years later all the pieces of the puzzle came to fit.

Some of this had been discussed earlier in this book, but some aspects is expanded upon here.  Back in 2006 as noted earlier in this writing, I had been asked in a rather casual setting, what my thoughts were on what I believed at the time to just be another technical paper, not all that long,  In this technical paper it had the concept of proof-of-work which essentially was a verification of numbers to complete a block.  At least that was my take on it at the time.  

Of course, at the time of this read through, I had no idea the person handing me this was to become the person known as Satoshi Nakamoto.  Or that this was some grand vision for a new global currency. At the time, the concept of digital currency would have been foreign to me and as much of interest to me as nuclear fusion.   However, as an engineer , then and now, I am able to follow along with new ideas and technical writings.  Even to an extent technically advanced ideas and conduct my own thought processes of “what if” scenarios in my mind.  Having always been a problem solver myself, I believe this trait of problem solving is fundamental to every great engineer.

The concept of a digital world currency at the time seemed like something fun to talk about but seemingly so far out in the future for application that it wouldn't be something that would materialize in my lifetime. Of course I was wrong on the timing, but because of that mentality the significance of what i was reading did not sink in.   Admittedly, I did have difficulty following the technical aspects of it.  Even today the concept of a blockchain and its security by way of time stamp and verification across a network progressing in time only one way is challenging to fully understand, yet very much of interest to me.  There was no going back on the time stamp, and hence security, once the proof-of-work occurred.  This is the part that stuck with me even after all these years.  I’ve always thought about time travel and the feasibility of it all.  However, time travel is a topic for another day.  

The short of it all was, the read through and my conversation largely was dismissed at the time and subsequently for quite a while after as something that might all happen with currency but certainly not in any time frame that would be impactful to me.  After all there were so many competing methods of currency as it was at the time.  And even if the world went in the direction of a digital currency in my lifetime the likelihood of Bitcoin being the sole source or even the dominant player, well who would take odds on that one?  Certainly not a practical engineer like myself.  

Additionally, from what I recall, currency wasn’t the emphasis of the draft document I was reading, nor my conversation with the person that would become Satoshi Nakamoto.  It was more about the verification process using interconnection of computers to establish a completed validation.  As mentioned, the proof-of-work aspect was front and center.   The aspect of eliminating the third party to the transaction or need for another party outside of the two direct transactors (receiver and sender) , really wasn’t foremost on my mind.   That aspect I’ve come to realize was and is likely foremost on the mind of the creator for bitcoin. 

As I look back at all this, its plainly obvious now where all that was headed.  The concern with security of banking, the need to solve a problem of trust through a secure independent verifiable transaction.  So much was being addressed in so little of a package.  It’s no wonder, I or anyone else, would not have seen the forest for the trees.  

There are some other aspects of this read-through and my conversations pre 2008 but saying any more would risk further privacy concerns.  

At the end of the day, the reader can believe this accounting or choose not to believe. Either way, I do not currently know where the person known as Satoshi Nakamoto is located.  And we know Satoshi Nakamoto wants to remain anonymous given all that has transpired in the time following the release of the White Paper. It's clear Satoshi Nakamoto had anticipated much of it, but certainly not all. 

Having said this, I would like to once again meet up with Satoshi Nakamoto. It must weigh heavy on the soul of Satoshi Nakamoto knowing what has been created and further knowing that coming forward or sharing more could be very problematic.  I would certainly understand if this is not ever possible.

The problem solved by the person that Satoshi Nakamoto is clear now to me and to many people around the world.  Although it has evolved and transformed into something that in my view is largely contrary to that vision.  By having dependence on financial institutions, exchanges, bad actor states, governance and other oversight, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have ironically materialized into just the opposite of what was originally envisioned.   As we see more and more unrest and divide and many of our systems failing or in turmoil, the need for such a peer-to-peer exclusive system independent of all this uncertainty takes on new light.  

What separates great visionaries from the rest of us is the actions to actually put things in motion on a grand scale.  For example, Elon musk with the breakthrough developments of reusable and self-landing rockets.  Truly great visionaries take action to make great things happen even with insurmountable hurdles before them to solve never before solved problems.   Great visionaries take the actions to put the pieces together and follow through to the extent necessary to assure their success. This is the credit to be given to the person that is Satoshi Nakamoto.  Satoshi Nakamoto put all the pieces together to create a singular transformational digital currency and followed through with it until likely he assured himself it would be successful.  His abrupt silence in 2011, may have been some combination of both the need to protect his pseudonym as well as seeing his vision materializing and beginning to take forward its motion and success as he anticipated.