Cyphernomicon

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"The Cyphernomicon" is a document written by Timothy C. May in 1994 for the Cypherpunks electronic mailing list. In a FAQ format, the document outlines some of the ideas behind, and the effects of, crypto-anarchism. [1] It is one of the philosophy's founding documents, advocating electronic privacy and anonymous digital currency. It touches on more esoteric topics, such as assassination markets. It contains May's 1992 essay "The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto" in its entirety.

Timothy C. May, better known as Tim May was an American technical, political writer, electronic engineer and senior scientist at Intel in the company's early history. He retired from Intel in 1986 at age 35 and died of natural causes at his home on December 13, 2018 at age 66.

A cypherpunk is any activist advocating widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change. Originally communicating through the Cypherpunks electronic mailing list, informal groups aimed to achieve privacy and security through proactive use of cryptography. Cypherpunks have been engaged in an active movement since the late 1980s.

{{Selfref|For information about the Wikipedia mailing lists, see [[Wikipedia:Mailing l

Sample

"The Cyphernomicon" is divided into a hierarchy of sections and subsections:

16.2 - SUMMARY: Crypto Anarchy  16.2.1. Main Points   - "...when you want to smash the State, everything looks like      a hammer."   - strong crypto as the "building material" for cyberspace      (making the walls, the support beams, the locks) 16.2.2. Connections to Other Sections   - this section ties all the other sections together 16.2.3. Where to Find Additional Information   - again, almost nothing written on this   - Vinge, Friedman, Rand, etc. 16.2.4. Miscellaneous Comments   - a very long section, possibly confusing to many 

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References

  1. May, Timothy C. (September 10, 1994). "The Cyphernomicon: Cypherpunks FAQ and More, Version 0.666". Cypherpunks.to. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2011.