How the ARPANET Protocols Worked (2021)

If this is a subject that interests you, I highly recommend the book Where Wizards Stay Up Late[0]. This blog post really just scratches the surface. And if reading about network protocols is your kind of thing, I definitely suggest reading the RFC[1].

0. https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/281818

1. https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc33.html

edit: formatting

We need to be studying the history of protocols more than ever. If we're going to break out of these centralised silo's it's only going to happen through the creation of new protocols that help us rebuild for a more decentralised and federated future. ARPANET is a study in the bridge from one era to the next. It was not the lasting phase. We evolved beyond it to create the lasting protocols. I think crypto/web3 was a premature effort that might setup something real to come in the future. This idea of trustless and permissionless blockchain protocols that can be operated in global networks is really key. We just have to find a way to cross the chasm like we did in the past.