Is there any primary-source evidence that Bitcoin’s issuance schedule was inspired by Zeno’s paradox?
Question
Bitcoins block subsidy follows a geometric decay (50 → 25 → 12.5 → …) forming a convergent series that asymptotically approaches the 21 million BTC supply cap. This structure reminds one of Zenos paradox, which also involves an infinite sequence of diminishing steps yielding a finite limit.
Is there any evidence in Satoshi Nakamotos writings, emails, forum posts, or source code comments that references Zeno’s paradox or similar philosophical paradoxes in connection with Bitcoin’s issuance design?
Alternatively, do available primary sources indicate that the issuance schedule derives solely from standard mathematical or cryptographic practice (e.g., convergent geometric series, prior PoW systems such as Hashcash) without philosophical motivation?
I am looking for answers supported by primary sources or technical documentation.
Answer 1
Is there any evidence in Satoshi Nakamotos writings, emails, forum posts, or source code comments that references Zeno’s paradox ...
I didn't find anything in a set of about 4301 writings obtained from the Nakamoto Institute
$ grep '"date":' * | wc -l
4301
$ grep -i hashcash * | wc -l
23
$ grep -i zeno *
$
... or similar philosophical paradoxes
I only found three mentions of the word "paradox" and none were in connection with the mathematical reduction of mining rewards / incentives.
Obviously, it is hard to prove a negative.