[HN Gopher] Decentralization Is a Narrative Mirage
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       Decentralization Is a Narrative Mirage
        
       Author : secondbreakfast
       Score  : 8 points
       Date   : 2021-02-03 20:05 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (secondbreakfast.co)
 (TXT) w3m dump (secondbreakfast.co)
        
       | satyrnein wrote:
       | Some interesting points, but technology pushes in both
       | directions. Cars are decentralized trains, PCs are decentralized
       | mainframes, etc. Sometimes the desire for autonomy or
       | customization outweighs the efficiency gain from centralization.
        
         | secondbreakfast wrote:
         | That is an interesting thought, I like it. I sense
         | centralization is a bit like interest rates. Fluctuating decade
         | to decade, but historically rates have been ~declining for
         | 2,000 years.
         | 
         | PCs are decentralized mainframes, but phones are now PCs and
         | all they do is ping AWS/Azure all day long now.
         | 
         | FWIW, I think centralization has been a net positive for
         | humanity. I'm glad I don't grow all my own food.
        
       | Finnucane wrote:
       | "Everybody sewed their own clothes until we built textile
       | factories."
       | 
       | He's never heard of tailors?
        
         | secondbreakfast wrote:
         | I should've written, "Everybody sewed their own clothes until
         | we specialized and people became tailors by trade."
        
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       (page generated 2021-02-03 23:02 UTC)