Do you have any advice about cutting through the noise, to achieve a bird's-eye view of the blockchain technology space?

"Do you have any advice about cutting through the noise, to achieve a bird's-eye view of the blockchain technology space?" "I spend every minute of my free time learning about new projects, technologies, protocol improvements, consensus mechanisms, and I can barely keep up with a fraction of it all." "As someone who spends much more time learning in the space than I do, how do you filter through it all?" "Do you recommend any sources in particular that do a great job of distilling the highlights... of what is happening right now?" That is a great question. I know that, for many people, I serve as that source. It is very difficult. I must not only to keep up with an extremely rapid pace of change in our industry, but also discern what is real and what is not. The truth does not simply fall somewhere on a random curve, [among] distributed news sources. There are people out there who are actively trying to sell you something. There is a lot of money floating around in this space, which has attracted many unscrupulous people.

It is not just about keeping up, but finding sources that are neutral, that don't have an agenda

It is not just about keeping up, but [finding] sources that are neutral, that don't have an agenda. Or if they do have an agenda, it is based on principle, not personal enrichment and promotion. This is a problem, because there aren't that many neutral voices. Most people are trying to sell you something. There are a lot of companies both inside and outside the space that are all trying to push their own agenda, like startups, insurance, financial services companies, and banks. For example, they are trying to tell you that we can continue with business-as-usual with just 'blockchain.' "We don't really need any of this open, borderless, decentralized cryptocurrency shit." "We can just use it as a database, and that is just as good. All we need is complete power [and control]." There are all of these challenges [in getting a bird's eye view of the space].

To me, the best approach for cutting through noise is...

To me, the best approach for cutting through noise is: go directly to the [source code of] the technology. Go to the source of information. I look at code. I use the code. I try to understand what it does. In addition, I read the developer mailing lists and discussions on GitHub. I read the pull requests and [go into] various chat rooms, though not all of them are good anymore. Many of the very qualified developers have left public chat rooms because of the noise there. In order to get work done, they have moved to more private forums. But you can still find a lot of good information online. To me, the focus should always be on the technology. Go back to the technology. Read about what the developers are doing, what the code is doing now. Then you will have a direct perspective on what is actually happening in the space, rather than marketing brochures and agenda-driven talking points. [A question] about crypto book recommendations: "Hi Andreas.

What other recommended reading do you have in the crypto, decentralization, and technology space?

In a recent interview, you spoke about your passion for reading." "I've already read and loved your books." "What [other recommended reading do you have in the crypto, decentralization, and technology space?" "Any sci-fi books about a distant crypto future? Thanks." [There is] one author, where I've probably read almost everything they have ever published... The author who has influenced my thinking a lot is a cyberpunk author called Cory Doctrow. Cory Doctorow has written a number of amazing books. I am a huge fan. His latest book, 'Radicalized,' just came out. I have not started reading it yet, but I have loved every single one of his previous books. They speak to a decentralized, autonomous, software- based, community-oriented, open-source future. Cory Doctrow is a very strong [advocate] in the areas of intellectual property and Creative Commons, in defending general-purpose and open computing, as well as fighting back against various forms.... of centralization and control. If you like any of those ideas, [his books] might be a good place to start. I would certainly recommend it.