Vint Cerf: “I think we’re still in a very peculiar period of time, where we’re trying to characterize what these things can and can’t do, and how they go off the rails, and how do you take advantage of them to do useful work? How do we get them to distinguish fact from fiction? All of that is in my view open territory, but then that’s always an exciting place to be — a place where nobody’s ever been before. The thrill of discovery and the risk of hazard create a fairly exciting mix — an exhilarating mix.”
Token Dispatch: “Dynamic NFTs function by storing data in a format that can be edited. While static NFTs are usually created using the ERC-721 token standard, dynamic NFTs use the ERC-1155 standard. That type of token standard is sometimes referred to as “semi-fungible” because it can be changed if required. Changes to a dynamic NFT can be triggered by a smart contract. Typically, an oracle will send external data to the smart contract, which triggers a change in the NFT’s metadata. The characteristics of that NFT, like its appearance, will then be updated…Dynamic NFTs are the gateway to a world where your digital possessions come to life.”
Rob Toth: “When it came time to choose a career, I didn’t start a business of my own—instead I got a job at this newspaper, and have worked here for three decades as an editor. Even as other friends founded their own companies, and some became impressive successes, I’ve followed other bosses and gotten my checks from a payroll department. Now I’m starting to wonder why. Don’t misunderstand: I love my job, and I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to do it for so long. And there is nothing wrong with sticking with a good thing. My father and mother stayed with their employers for decades, doing demanding work so the family could have everything it needed. But lately I’ve been thinking about why I never did launch a business of my own—and if I should have. Was it fear? Was it common sense? And most of all: Was it a mistake? Would I have been happier had I built something from nothing and answered just to myself?”
WSJ: “‘Robber barons’ of the 19th and 21st centuries enrich, not exploit, the poor and middle class…As American capitalism blossomed, some got rich. In 1892 there were 4,050 millionaires, with less than 20% having inherited their wealth. The rest created it and in the process reduced poverty, expanded general societal prosperity, and made it possible for millions of immigrants looking for opportunity and freedom to find both. That mattered little to progressives, who were so obsessed by the 4,050 millionaires that they turned a blind eye to the 66 million Americans whose economic well-being improved faster than any people who had ever lived on earth…At its root, progressivism is based on a myth and fueled by envy—the same caustic force that has destroyed prosperity and endangered freedom from the time of the ancient Greeks.”
