The Ancient Code in Bitcoin & Crypto
A student knows when to buy. A master knows when to sell Anonymous
(Excerpted from my book The Tao of Crypto )
The energy of an ancient divination code is embedded within the digital world. The essence of this code cultivates the flowing dynamism of the ubiquitous, primordial Way of the universe — the Tao. Countless cryptographic architectures incorporate the unifying energy of the Tao into their decentralized structure. Understand this and increase opportunities for success.
The I Ching is an ancient Taoist book of wisdom used for divination — foretelling of future events and finding hidden knowledge. The I Ching or Yi Jing is translated as The Book of Changes. The Book of Changes contains 64 hexagrams — a figure with six vertically stacked lines. The 64 hexagrams are created from the 8 trigrams: Heaven, Lake, Fire, Thunder, Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth. The three lines of a trigram are either Yin (broken line) or Yang (solid line). There are a possible eight combinations of three lines and a total of 64 combinations when two trigrams are combined. And each line is an important part of the overall conditions the hexagram reveals.
Over one thousand years ago, the Song Dynasty scholar Shao Yong based his philosophy on the King Wen arrangement of hexagrams. His work was translated by Joachim Bouvet, a French Jesuit scholar, who was among the first missionaries who came to China in 1687. From 1697–1707 Bouvet corresponded with the German polymath Gottfried Leibniz. Leibniz invented the Binary Code which forms the foundation of modern-day computing. When Bouvet sent Leibniz a copy of the King Wen sequence, Leibniz discovered a pattern in the ordering. Leibniz determined the King Wen sequence ordered the I Ching hexagrams in binary number order from 0–63 with 0 for Yang lines and 1 for Yin lines.
In Taoist thought, the movement of Yin and Yang create the energy for change. Understanding the shifting patterns of changes ahead will assist you in making correct decisions. The I Ching has influenced mystical beliefs across Asia for thousands of years. The book was central to the development of the Tao Te Ching and scores of other books of wisdom such as The Art of War.
In the midst of chaos, there is opportunity. — Sun Tzu The Art of War
Powerful forces are shaping the rapidly evolving crypto-based world. At times, the path ahead can become clouded by chaos. Learn to focus your energy and take advantage of opportunities others may miss. Ponder the cryptic wisdom revealed in following the Tao of Crypto and discover the Way within. Read the Tao of Crypto
The following chronology illustrates the interconnected paths leading from the ancient binary hexagrams of the I Ching to the binary algorithmic crypto-world of the Twenty-First Century.
I Ching — 2000 BCE: The I Ching consists of three layers. The first layer are the eight trigrams and sixty-four hexagrams. The historical record of the origins of the I Ching hexagrams and trigrams has been lost to the mists of time. Ancient legends say the I Ching was created by Fu Xi. Fu Xi and his wife Nu Wa who were the first humans who created the foundations of ancient Chinese culture. It was said the trigrams were written on the back of a great dragon tortoise (or horse). Legends say the hexagrams were revealed to Fu Xi while he studied a map of the Yellow River.
King Wen 1112–1050 BC: The second layer of the I Ching is represented in the hexagram and line statements. These were said to have been created by King Wen of Zhou over three thousand years ago.
I Ching Commentaries — 5th and 2nd Centuries BC: The third layer of the I Ching is called the Ten Wings. The Ten Wings are a selection of commentaries on the text. Some scholars have tried to identify Confucius as the author of these commentaries, but that has been disputed for centuries.
Good fortune and misfortune take effect through perseverance.
I Ching — Ten Wings, Sixth Wing, Second Section, Chapter I
Shao Yong — 1011–1077 AD: The Song Dynasty scholar believed the energy of the Tao, which is the foundation for everything, could be understood by dividing the various elements into numbers. Shao’s studies were called xiangshu xue — “image-number study”. Although perhaps unintentionally, Shao ordered the hexagrams according to the binary numbers created by the lines of Yang — 0 and Yin — 1. It was this arrangement that later inspired Leibniz. The more ancient King Wen Sequence is used more widely in interpretations of the I Ching. This book uses the King Wen Sequence in Section Two.
Joachim Bouvet — 1656–1730: A French Jesuit scholar who lived in China for many years. He translated the I Ching for Europeans. Bouvet corresponded with Leibniz and sent him a copy of Shao Yong’s binary numbers sequenced diagram of the I Ching.
Gottfried Leibniz — 1646–1716: — The influence of the I Ching on Leibniz’s development of binary math cannot be understated. Leibniz wrote at great length about the I Ching. As an example, he wrote an article entitled: “Explanation of the binary arithmetic, which uses only the characters 1 and 0, with some remarks on its usefulness, and on the light, it throws on the ancient Chinese figures of “Fu Xi”
The present is saturated with the past and pregnant with the future. — Leibniz
Joseph Marie Jacquard — 1752–1834: — The French weaver/merchant Jacquard’s mechanical loom used programmable punch cards for encoding data. The binary system of holes guides the two weaving elements of the warp and weft threads. This system led directly to early programmable computers.
Charles Babbage (1791–1871): Babbage has been called the father of computing. In 1821 Babbage invented the Difference Engine to compile mathematical tables. All the elements of modern computers are contained in his later Analytical Engine. Babbage borrowed Jacquard’s concept of using punch cards for programming his machine thus continuing the line back to the I Ching.
At each increase of knowledge, as well as on the contrivance of every new tool, human labour becomes abridged. — Charles Babbage
Ada Lovelace — (1815–1852): daughter of Lord Byron is thought by many to have been the first computer programmer for Babbage’s Analytical Engine. She translated a paper by an Italian engineer who wrote about his ideas related to a speech given by Babbage. Lovelace’s translation included extensive notes, including algorithms for Babbage’s Engine. Her genius was realizing the machine could be used for more than computing numbers. In this way, she connected directly to the fundamentals of Taoism in the I Ching.
George Boole (1815–1864): — Boole, a philosopher and mathematician, wrote his most famous work, The Laws of Thoughts, while he was a mathematics professor. The book contains his masterwork — Boolean Logic which led to the Information Age. In another line back to the I Ching, Boole’s system of logic was based on binary, yes-no, on-off approach operations.
Claude Shannon 1916–2001: — Shannon was a mathematician, engineer, and cryptographer. Shannon applied Boolean Logic to electrical circuits as 1 and 0. In this stroke of genius, he understood all information could be represented by ones and zeroes.
We know the past but cannot control it. We control the future but cannot know it…. Information is the resolution of uncertainty. — Claude Shannon
David Chaum: In 1983, cryptographer Chaum created a cryptographic system called eCash.
In 1998 — the word cryptocurrency was coined to describe a decentralized cryptographic system.
January 2009 — Bitcoin invented. Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency created by a person or persons calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin was the first real world application of blockchain technology. That spark illuminated the Way of Crypto.
The present is the only thing that has no end. — Erwin Schrödinger
The Tao of Crypto
(Adapted by Wheeler from the Tao Te Ching — Dao De Jing)
The Tao of crypto is constant
The anonymous code generated the crypto-world
The anonymous code is ever present
The code brought to life the ten thousand assets
Appreciate the subtle internal mysteries without desire
Yearn for the known external manifestations
With different names, the mysteries and manifestations originate together
This uniformity reveals the enigmatic Tao of crypto…
To learn how to take advantage of the ancient code embedded within the modern world read The Tao of Crypto
