Leverage for Discovery
For the past 7 years, I’ve been stuck on a question: how do you build systems that nobody controls but everybody benefits from?
Adam Jonas
Writing on open source, science, and building systems nobody controls.
Latest posts
The Decentralized Development Paradox
The decentralized development paradox is simple – decentralized development processes that give bitcoin its strength and resilience come at a significant cost to efficiency and effectiveness. The tension this creates looms over Bitcoin Core the software project, where nobody is “in charge,” and therefore, nobody is compelled to do anything.
Bitcoin CoreDev reflections 2024-2025
For a sixth year running, regular Bitcoin Core contributors received a survey to surface priorities and ensure that people feel that they can contribute effectively. Below is a summary of the results in a format similar to previous years’ surveys.
Evolution of Bitcoin Core Priority Projects
In April 2023, Bitcoin Core developers initiated the Priority Projects experiment to address a recognized bias in the development process towards smaller patches over more significant projects. The initiative aimed to help maintainers prioritize significant projects when facing competing demands for review attention.
Bitcoin CoreDev reflections 2023-2024
For a fifth year running, regular Bitcoin Core contributors received a survey to surface priorities and ensure that people feel that they can contribute effectively. Below is a summary of the results in a format similar to last year’s survey.
Bitcoin CoreDev reflections 2022-2023
For a fourth year running, regular Bitcoin Core contributors received a survey to surface priorities and ensure that people feel that they can contribute effectively. Below is a summary of the results in a format similar to last year’s survey.
Education and exclusivity
As we start to tell the story of Qala more publicly, I’m reminded of the relationship between prominent learning and exclusivity. A shortcut to fame is designing the admissions process to yield as ratio as low as possible. This taps into the innately human pursuit of coveting and valuing that which is scarce. The mechanism is effective at creating an external perception of a good education. It’s a…
Why teaching doesn’t pay… but should
Qala is kicking off a trend of new programs that will train bitcoin and lightning developers. But before we can do that, we need to find the teachers to inspire, motivate and unblock the new generation willing to endure the pain of learning. If bitcoin is going to be a paradigm shift, we need to start with who we are putting in the front of the room. Teaching is about as high-leverage an activity…
The gaps in open-source funding
A few people reached out about my post on my Guide for Grant Seekers with some critical feedback about promoting work-for-free culture. To clarify, this guide was not meant to be an ideal vision for the future, it was meant to reflect the present and help grant seekers achieve their goals.
A guide for open-source grant seekers
Over the past few years, the bar for funding has been a moving target. Prior to 2019, finding full-time funding for open-source bitcoin development was quite hard. That summer, we gathered a few brave souls in New York and went as far as hosting a demo day in the hopes of finding them financial support for their open-source work. It took months for many of them to find support. That was three…