Through the years, as physicians who practice peri-operative medicine, Board Certified Anesthesiologists encounter numerous advances in technology which impact their practice. These technological advances come in many forms and come at us from different vectors. The application of force on a rock and thus the movement of some electrons is but one example of a technological advancement. That little science fact from high school chemistry led to the saving of many lives because of its application to ultrasound guided therapies and procedures. Some of the usages of the various laws of physics, the laws of thermodynamic stability and conservation of energy helps us daily in our modern-day practice. In fact, its expected of us to keep abreast of medical advancements and advancements within societal rails. Every single year we live, and we strive to improve our lot. Whether it be at work or home, most everyone wants to feel good and improve.
How does Bitcoin fit in? I fully acknowledge that I am not a world expert in the subject of Bitcoin and Blockchain. There are so many talented, bright, and innovative men and women who are smarter than me, and they work within the field of Bitcoin and Blockchain. If you were given the task of creating a system which can enable any person with access to a phone or computer, the ability to:
- Send money from one’s holdings in a bank or at home, almost anywhere on the planet within seconds.
- Make that money 100% owned by the person sending and then person receiving it.
- Enable folks to borrow a limited amount of money from any accumulated equity they may have without having to sign any papers or get a credit score.
- Have the ability to initiate the proliferation of computer coding and programing which will make many things we use and want cost much much less!
Go ahead, start designing. The ramifications are tremendous. The serendipity of our times has conspired to bring us a discovery, an ingenious method of using electrons, cryptography, computer programming, and mechano-electrical engineering principles to create a new “system”.
Blockchain essentially is a very simplified version, a “system” in which multitude of people have the exact same information or snippet of information simultaneously, and a mechanism in which the information that is shared and known to all is immutable. It can’t be changed. Let your imagination go for a while. You can live in a system that is mandated to decrease the value of your holdings by a small percentage every year or live in a system where your holdings increase in value over the years. Every single year that more money is created, the value of your money is decreased. Now imagine a system where your money actually goes up in value over time. Pick any 4-year time segment in the last 100 years and look at the rate of growth of the Central Bank balance sheets. The US tried to grow the rate about 2% per year (devalue the dollar by 2% a year) on purpose. Its job was to stimulate growth and keep employment even. But the serendipity of current events: the 2007 – 2008 financial blow up was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back, along with Covid-19, a contested presidential election, the gain in power of dictatorships, have all melded together and created a complex system with a number of broken parts. Necessity is the mother of invention. Far too many wonderfully gifted men and women sought a way out of the constant devaluation of their wealth, and thus, worked (unbeknownst to each other) to develop the parts for this new system.
Bitcoin utilizes blockchain technology, knowledge of electrons and their movements, the principle of scarcity and relative value, societal desire for true ownership of property, and commonly used electronic devices such as phones and computers to create a monetary system. But the ramifications of this discovery/design are tremendous. Like many other technological advances, its adoption can take a long time. Its development can take a long time. Dr. John B. Glen worked on propofol for over a decade before his formula worked well enough for clinical practice.
One of the ramifications of this technology is an ability to transmit information about yourself, at and only at your discretion, to anyone, anytime by utilizing different aspects of blockchain. Normal payment for our services now can take weeks if not months to collect. Some
Blockchain has the ability to initiate complex contractual arrangements almost instantly and without third party interventions. It is anticipated, as well as conceivable, that payment for our services could be done on the same day of service, and will be paid in a manner in which the money given would appreciate in value over any 4-year period of time, and beyond. Enmeshed within this system is the ability to send information about yourself or a patient in a secure, immutable manner.
There is much to learn about this technology. This new technology is expanding faster than most any technological advancement to date, when looking at written history. Nothing matches its speed of spread. Rauol Pal, Robert Breedlove, Saifedean Ammous, Cathy Wood, Lynn Alden, Jeff Booth, and Michael Saylor are but a few of the many bright, accomplished, and financially savvy folks who can be seen via YouTube as they explain different aspects of this nascent technology. The “Michael Saylor – Breedlove Series” is a solid foundation to build one’s knowledge of this technological breakthrough. My favorite of all these authors is Saifedean Ammous’s “The Bitcoin Standard.” That is an excellent read, it is logical, concise, and entertaining. At the time of this writing, I am part way through his subsequent book, “The Fiat Standard”, and it is also a great read. Take at least 20 hours to study this phenomenon and after that, if you believe it’s a fallacious Ponzi scheme, well, so be it. For those of you who, after sitting your gluteus maximus on a chair for these 20 hours, and have ongoing or subsequent epiphanies, you will most likely end up going further down the “rabbit hole” and will discover the new land of Blockchain.
If you have ever visited Yellowstone National Park, you will undoubtedly see meadows with a few mounds of dirt here and there. Those mounds represent the entrances to the complex and intricate tunnels and homes of the Prairie Dog. All you can see is a large meadow, but unseen is a whole community. Much like the Prairie dog community, bitcoin is a community worth exploring and has the potential to improve our lives by improving speed and efficacy of compensation.