This is an opinion editorial by Peter Conley, product advocate at Vercel.
How does someone start learning about Bitcoin? This is the 21 million coin question. Learning about Bitcoin can be confusing. There is so a lot of content out there, content of all kinds: books, online courses, YouTube videos, podcasts, tweets, media articles, anything you can think of.
Just getting started can be the most intimidating part. Before going down the Bitcoin rabbit hole, I didn’t know what the term “market head” meant, what the Federal Reserve was doing, or anything about the history of gold. I have a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the State University of New York that taught me next to nothing about finance. And I couldn’t tell you the difference between a full node and a mining rig, but I’ve worked in the tech industry since 2014.
So where did I start? Did I immediately buy “The Bitcoin Standard”? Did I go down the rabbit hole of Michael Saylor interviews? Did I pretend to understand what Nick Szabo was saying on the Tim Ferriss podcast?
I took a more personalized approach to learning about Bitcoin. I focused on specific Bitcoin educators who taught through the lens of subjects I knew (or knew) and listened to their interviews until I could understand their basic mental models and premises.
I took any specific tunnel that would allow me to dig just an inch further down this rabbit hole. If I felt like I couldn’t go any deeper, I would look for another educator to take me in another direction, as long as I went deeper.
I would listen to anywhere from three to 60 podcasts in a row from a particular educator, so that I could deepen their teachings and analogies in my mind. From this, I was able to create a “knowledge trunk” and then branch out to other subjects and sub-domains to further my understanding.
Initially, Anthony Pompliano was the first one who was able to hook me. In my opinion, he is able to talk to non-technical people and get to the first principles of Bitcoin. One of my favorite examples of this is his podcast interview with comedians Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh.
When I found a foothold through the history of technology, like printing, steel, or weapons, I was listening to Michael Saylor.
After about fifty interviews with Michael Saylor, I read “The Bitcoin Standard” by Dr. Saifedean Ammous. His book was able to frame the problem Bitcoin was trying to solve. After understanding the big problem fiat money has, I could further explore why Bitcoin is the best solution.
When I first started working in web development, I was impressed by the work of Andreas Antonopoulos, specifically “The Internet Of Money”.
I took this approach because humans learn by analogy. If you’re a web developer trying to learn about neuroscience, the more computer science references your teacher uses, the faster you’ll learn. If your teacher keeps making comparisons between the human brain and computers, you’ll absorb the material quickly. The same applies to Bitcoin or any other topic.
I don’t think there is a “one size fits all” way to learn about Bitcoin. I don’t think there is a better Bitcoin book out there. There is no better Bitcoin podcast either. However, there are definitely ideal pieces of content based on your existing knowledge and top-notch communicators that can help you understand Bitcoin faster.
Fortunately, there isn’t just one Bitcoin master or educator. If you know nothing about philosophy and don’t understand 70% of what Robert Breedlove says, you’re out of luck. If you can’t write code, you don’t need to go out and buy “Mastering Bitcoin”. Instead, find an educator to give you a leg up.
Below is a short list of my personal favorite Bitcoin educators and the domains they teach. If you are stuck on understanding Bitcoin, I would suggest that you enter through a domain you already know and then build your understanding from there. What’s the worst that could happen?
Bitcoin Educators
Andreas Antonopoulos, the author of “The Internet Of Money” and one of the OG Bitcoin educators, teaches through the lens of computer science, Internet history, and Internet technology (IT).
Michael Saylor, whose public company MicroStrategy has billions of dollars in bitcoin on its balance sheet, teaches through the lens of the history of technology, energy, early domain name investing, public markets and being a (recently former) CEO. of a public company.
Dr. Saifedean Ammous, the acclaimed author of “The Bitcoin Standard,” teaches through the lens of Austrian economics.
Robert Breedlove, a successful venture capitalist, teaches primarily through the lens of philosophy and “liberty maximalism.”
Natalie Brunell, one of the most recognized journalists in the Bitcoin space, teaches through journalism and the American dream.
Venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and media mogul Anthony Pompliano teaches through the lens of technology companies, financial markets, and monetary policy.
Jason Lowery, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, teaches through the lens of war, physics, history, and national defense.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who was voted one of the best mayors in the country, teaches from the perspective of governance and local politics.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. I’ve compiled a more comprehensive list of Bitcoin educators here. If you have another one to add to the list, don’t hesitate send me a message via twitter.
This is a guest post by Peter Conley. The opinions expressed are entirely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
