The hype over blockchain — a new technology that has generated what one observer has called a “mind virus” — has infected scholarly communications, with companies claiming to bring blockchain to scientific research, conferences about the technology and its potential implications,* and even an interview earlier this week on this blog echoing claims about its “revolutionary” nature and potential to reduce expenses and save us work.
It’s interesting to see how some new technologies make everyone do backflips while others that can offer even greater utility and long-term value do not. Case in point — USB drives. Introduced in 2000, these were never that sexy, but have proven to be consistently useful, and continue to serve their main purpose to this day.
For whatever reason, blockchain has sex appeal in spades, with Bitcoin, Silicon Valley bros, disruptors and technologists all aligned around its cool capabilities. There is also a certain libertarian appeal to blockchain, as its relative anonymity (better described as pseudonymity) is cited by some as having the potential to take the Internet back to its anarchic and individualistic days. I’m also told that blockchain has solved one of the biggest problems in computer science, the Byzantine Generals’ Problem, representing a significant technical breakthrough. That probably earned it some fans.
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