# The Chain Mail Gaze

- Speakers: [Wassim Alsindi](https://streameth.org/speakers/wassim-alsindi)
- Event: [Web3 Summit 2024](https://streameth.org/web3summit/web3_summit_2024), Berlin
- Channel: [Web3Summit](https://streameth.org/web3summit)
- Date: 2024-08-19
- Duration: 23:40
- Topics: cryptocurrency, bitcoin, blockchain, community building, economics
- Watch: https://streameth.org/watch/66c1c5326e7e09ffb2c8c6fd
- Download: https://vod-cdn.lp-playback.studio/raw/jxf4iblf6wlsyor6526t4tcmtmqa/catalyst-vod-com/hls/cdd1yyjndj7ae1ef/1080p0.mp4

## Description

With their dreams of new ‘Network State’ empires, resource extraction, and colonial domination, today’s tech overlords are the descendants of Europe’s mediaeval Crusaders: well-financed, zealous fanatics remaking the world in the name of their greater good. Through a psycho-political reading of scarcity, chauvinism, and colonialism, The Chain Mail Gaze connects Crusader ideologues’ desire for blood, land, and booty, to emerging ‘frontiers’ mediated by contemporary technologies. The video features a speaker named Wissie Malcindy discussing the concept of friction in the context of work and how it relates to a broader spectrum of ideas. The talk delves into various subjects, including rural friction, funding mechanisms, the dynamics of influence and bilingualism, and the evolution of communities over time. The speaker touches on complex themes like anarchy pricing, disappearance of certain elements over years, cultural shifts due to toxic masculinity, and the impact of technological advancements like blockchain and automation.

The narrative also explores Bitcoin's role in this landscape, highlighting its temporal properties and its function as a "chronogenic apparatus" that creates new forms of temporality independent from traditional calendars or clocks. The discussion includes reflections on how Bitcoin operates as a clock, its energy requirements, its perception by maximalists, and its broader societal implications.

Additionally, the speaker examines the concept of petro-masculinity and how it relates to ecological concerns in parts of the UK. The talk concludes by considering Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto's disappearance and how Bitcoin enthusiasts communicate within their networks. Overall, the video presents a complex intersection of technology, society, time perception, and environmental issues through the lens of cryptocurrency.