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6 Dec, 5 tweets, 2 min read
So, a cryptocurrency business was rolled for $30m. Thing is, it wasn't "hacked;" Someone just found an edge case in the code that defines the 'smart contract' inherent to the business model, and used it to "trade" a few Mono tokens for millions of dollars, draining their funds.
This thread digs into some of the technical details:
What I find interesting is that it illustrates the dangers of an article of faith in cryptocurrency: "there is no law but the contract, and that is good because the contract is unambiguous, executable code."
For most normal people, "unhackable" implies that something is safe and secure. In cryptocurrency, it means that anything that *possible* and *permissible* are synonyms. You describe what is possible using code, and that is the law of your currency, full stop.
While it may comfort devs who trust the quality of their own pseudocode, in reality it means there's no recourse for being scammed. If someone bankrupts your company via an unanticipated edge case in your shopping cart code, that's on you. The system is working as specified.

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More from @eaton

Actually, Profile picture
6 Dec
One of the more nuanced breakdowns of Bari Weiss' career arc, from John Ganz' The Political Economy of Reaction. johnganz.substack.com/p/the-politica… Bari Weiss, once groomed to...
Reminds me of a side conversation we had with @danieleharper and @_Jack_Graham_ on @idsgpod, in reference to Weiss' membership in the ~Heterodox Opinion Havers Society~. Ganz compares Bari and her fellow-travelers to the losers of 18th c Paris' crumbling linterary class.
I don't know enough about the history of the era to assess Ganz' comparison in detail, but I think there's something to be said for the theory that ostensibly diverse figures like GG, Tucker, Bari, and others desire both radical chic AND establishment security.
Read 5 tweets
Actually, Profile picture
7 Nov
It's impressive how densely packed these two tweets are with the language and social cues of abusive Christian fundamentalism.

For those who don't recognize them, Moore here is obliquely responding to the "exvangelical" movement that's been blossoming over the past few years.
I can't say whether the movement is *numerically* significant or not, but it's certainly had a social and cultural impact: people, many of whom experienced religious abuse and trauma in authoritarian spiritual communities, are leaving *and talking about why*.
This has thrown certain fundamentalist systems of control into a tailspin, like a referees trying to give someone a penalty because they quit the game. Matt's opening statement acknowledging "bad experiences" is a weak concession to keep potential exvangelicals on the field. Quoting Matt: "I get that people have had bad—even tr
Read 16 tweets
Actually, Profile picture
15 Oct
This afternoon's system-design ramble is brought to you by LEGO Part Number 41530: "Propeller 8-Blade, 5 Diameter." Image
I've talked before about the ways the LEGO building system demos important qualities of consistent, flexible, growing systems. One of the most important ways it "keeps its promises to itself" is ensuring pieces use recurring magic numbers for their measurements and proportions.
Those magic numbers become critical when pieces connect to each other; rods fit, heights of stacked bricks match, etc. Even if pieces weren't explicitly designed to work with each other, their interactions with the *system* of measurements and connections does the heavy lifting.
Read 11 tweets
Actually, Profile picture
15 Oct
Fascinating thread about the current supply chain + labor market conundrum that's squeezing many manufacturers.

TL;DR: It's not the lack of workers, it's that JIT manufacturing culture that makes recovering from disruption nigh impossible.
IIRC it was Dell that really popularized the JIT manufacturing philosophy, back in the days when computers were purchased like cars — you hoped someone had the configuration you wanted in stock.
This was also the era when the best way to get a deal on a Mac was waiting for Apple to announce a new model… then waiting 6 months for them to auction off a huge pile of the old model at cut rates.
Read 5 tweets
Actually, Profile picture
15 Oct
Good piece by @TonyByrne at the @realstorygroup on the challenges Acquia faces turning a suite of acquired products into a coherent platform. It's a problem many vendors have, but it's relevant RE their @Widen acquisition.
realstorygroup.com/Blog/what-make…
Quite a bit of the complexity we end up helping *our* clients navigate, regardless of vendor, boils down to "making sense of a complex multi-product integration…"
The divides between products, even from one vendor, are about underlying mental and architectural models, assumed workflows, etc, not just consistent branding and "they all have the same SSO now," so acquisitions take a lot of time and work to really integrate.
Read 4 tweets
Actually, Profile picture
30 Aug
Vaccine Disinformation. A case study.

Friends know that I've long subscribed to "bottom of the barrel" conservative email-lists. GOP PATRIOT NEWS and other fly-by-night popup "news services" litter the conservative landscape, firehosing ad-encrusted email blasts on the hour.
The reason they exist is well-documented: the conservative base responds to fearmongering and lib-mocking. And when they respond, their clicks and shares can be monetized. The system doesn't require diabolical propagandists, just profit-seekers leeching off the echo chamber.
Take this morning's email from "TPN News" — aka "Three Percent Nation," a reference to a far-right group that advocates active resistance to the corrupt, liberal federal government. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Per…). Mind you, TPN News
Read 22 tweets

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