The invention of battle valor record keeping

“..he turned to the Phoenicians and, in his extreme vexation, blamed them for everything that had happened, and he ordered that their heads be cut off so that those who had proved to be inferior should never again slander their betters. In fact, Xerxes was constantly watching to see if any of his men performed some remarkable feat. He observed the fighting as he sat at the foot of the mountain called Aigaleos, facing Salamis, and whenever he saw one of his commanders carry out an extraordinary deed, he would immediately inquire who was doing it, and had his scribes write down the name of the trierarch, his patronymic, and the city from which he came.”

Herodotus, Histories.

(no subject)

After Mr. Chen’s briefing, Mr. Xi announced that China should speed up research into blockchain, according to a report released late last week by the country’s official Xinhua News Agency.

While Beijing has previously been skeptical about cryptocurrencies, some investors and experts had expected cautious support for blockchain technology as part of a broader competition with the U.S. over financial firepower. China’s central bank is also in the midst of developing its own digital currency. Yet the fact that such an endorsement for blockchain came from Mr. Xi himself took the market by surprise.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-professor-the-president-and-the-pep-talk-that-kicked-off-a-blockchain-rally-11572611156

China has a trillion dollar problem, while the US has a 22 trillion dollar one. Debasing the dollar would be the most powerful blow in the unfolding US-China economic rivalry.