# Vinay Gupta: his works and how they connect (part 1 of 9, 1984 to 2006)

> Every work in his career record (175), by year, with what it is, the thread it belongs to, what it came from and led to and why, and the sources in the archive about it. Part 1 of 9, 1984 to 2006; continues in https://guptaoption.com/texts/works-2.md. Vinay Gupta, exponential humanitarian. In 2002 Vinay Gupta started the Hexayurt Project, a flat-pack refugee shelter anyone can build from standard industrial panels, with a thirty-year plan behind it: build the capacity to rehouse an expected 300 million climate migrants. Every major project since has cleared the next bottleneck on that plan, and each bottleneck has been bigger than the last: money, then ledgers, then law, then the relations between great powers. Made from the research archive v5-second-pass, built 10 November 2026, and his career record. The map of the whole archive is https://guptaoption.com/llms.txt; source ids such as [250] are at https://guptaoption.com/texts/250.md.

### Cyberpunk (1984)

- Identity, law and blockchain; concept; work id cyberpunk-1980s
- What: The 1980s cyberpunk culture that came first; first computer a ZX81 in 1982.
- Summary: 1980s cyberpunk. First computer a ZX81 in 1982. The fiction and the machine precede the 1990s cypherpunk practice. Not a SCIM need.
- Threads: cryptographic applications
- Led to Cypherpunks (1992): fiction and the machine, then the mailing list. Evidence (he says so): Blockchain Beyond Bitcoin, Virtual Futures Salon (2018-02-11) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn5kjVYjYvI&t=5001s; Vinay Gupta on the beginning of blockchain (De Brakke Grond) (2016-02-26) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRdCKbTUBU8&t=0s
- Sources (4, by hand first, then by importance): [239](https://guptaoption.com/texts/239.md) The Future of Stuff (2020); [760](https://guptaoption.com/texts/760.md) Vinay Gupta - Across the Abyss: From Myth to Reality @... (2020); [562](https://guptaoption.com/texts/562.md) Vinay Gupta at The Promise of the Blockchain 2015 (2024); [683](https://guptaoption.com/texts/683.md) CommunityZ Chest - Vinay Gupta, Founder of Mattereum, In... (2020)

### Solo meditation (1987)

- Writing and inner practice; specified; work id meditation-solo; https://web.archive.org/web/20181006171655/http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/my-thoughtmenu-on-enlightenment-3644
- What: Daily solo meditation, about an hour a day, from about age 15.
- Summary: 1980s solo sitting, about an hour a day, no Hindu lineage at the start. Thought Menu on Enlightenment: started because there was nothing else to do. Not a SCIM need.
- Threads: fiction draws on; solo practice to the cutting machinery
- Led to Internal dialogue stops (1993): six years of sitting. Evidence (he says so): My Thoughtmenu on Enlightenment (2020) https://web.archive.org/web/20181006171655/http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/my-thoughtmenu-on-enlightenment-3644
- Led to Mother of Hydrogen (2012): the interior practice, as fiction. Evidence (implied by the later work): Mother of Hydrogen: Harry and Peter sit (2012-11) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/mother_of_hydrogen.txt
- Sources (4, by hand first, then by importance): [38](https://guptaoption.com/texts/38.md) Hexayurt Country: The Hexayurt Project plan for relief... (2010); [191](https://guptaoption.com/texts/191.md) My Thoughtmenu on Enlightenment | The Bucky-Gandhi... (2020); [248](https://guptaoption.com/texts/248.md) Vinay Gupta Thought Menu on Enlightenment (2020); [705](https://guptaoption.com/texts/705.md) Vinay Gupta - Thought Menu on Enlightenment (2017)

### Cypherpunks (1992)

- Identity, law and blockchain; specified; work id crypto-1990s; https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/bitcoin-is-teaching-realism-to-libertarians-an-interview-with-old-school-cypherpunk-vinay-gupta-1415220752
- What: Cypherpunk practice in the 1990s: cryptography as a political technology.
- Summary: 1990s cypherpunk practice: cryptography as political technology. Follows 1980s cyberpunk. Applied later as CheapID, Ethereum, MAP hashes.
- Threads: cryptographic applications
- Came from Cyberpunk (1984): fiction and the machine, then the mailing list. Evidence (he says so): Blockchain Beyond Bitcoin, Virtual Futures Salon (2018-02-11) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn5kjVYjYvI&t=5001s; Vinay Gupta on the beginning of blockchain (De Brakke Grond) (2016-02-26) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRdCKbTUBU8&t=0s
- Led to CheapID (2006): PKI on the person. Evidence (he says so): On the ethics (and pragmatics) of cryptography (blog) (2012-02-04) http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/on-the-ethics-and-pragmatics-of-cryptography-2985
- Led to RCDS cyber (Tibbs) (2011): applied to the State. Evidence (implied by the later work): Mattereum is Blockchain Cypherpunk (2022-03-01) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yaXwqx-XzA&t=0s; Defence, Security and Resilience under Rapid Technological Change (Hardin Tibbs... (2011) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/cyber/Defense_Security_Resilience_and_rapid_technological_change.pdf#page=2
- Led to Dangerous Old Men: Cypherpunk's Failure, Ethereum's Success (2015): cypherpunk's failure. Evidence (he says so): Vinay Gupta, Dangerous Old Men: cypherpunk's failure, Ethereum's success (2015-11-14) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iNiUasJiEc&t=0s
- Led to On Un-Designing the Cryptographic Utopia (2012): the cypherpunk utopia, un-designed. Evidence (he says so): On the ethics (and pragmatics) of cryptography (blog) (2012-02-04) http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/on-the-ethics-and-pragmatics-of-cryptography-2985
- Sources (9, by hand first, then by importance): [113](https://guptaoption.com/texts/113.md) The Ethereum Launch Process | Ethereum Foundation Blog (2015); [684](https://guptaoption.com/texts/684.md) DEVCON1: Dangerous Old Men: Cypherpunk's Failure,... (2016); [758](https://guptaoption.com/texts/758.md) #3 Vinay Gupta, Indexing the physical world (2019); [77] I went to the same school as Julian Assange, but we... (2011) (no text here); [768](https://guptaoption.com/texts/768.md) #03 - Vinay Gupta : History of Money, Foundations of... (2021); [112](https://guptaoption.com/texts/112.md) ‘Bitcoin Is Teaching Realism To Libertarians’: An... (2014); [790](https://guptaoption.com/texts/790.md) 'Mattereum is Blockchain Cypherpunk' (2022); [452](https://guptaoption.com/texts/452.md) Wall St vs Silicon Valley (2025); [590](https://guptaoption.com/texts/590.md) 'Changing The Relationship Between People and Things' (2022)

### Internal dialogue stops (1993)

- Writing and inner practice; specified; work id meditation-1993; https://web.archive.org/web/20181006171655/http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/my-thoughtmenu-on-enlightenment-3644
- What: After six years of daily sitting, the internal dialogue stopped.
- Summary: About 1993-1994, after six years of daily sitting. Then a guru (Bhavani Ma; Future of Stuff dedication). Lineage later named as the religious wing of the Gurkhas.
- Threads: fiction draws on; solo practice to the cutting machinery
- Came from Solo meditation (1987): six years of sitting. Evidence (he says so): My Thoughtmenu on Enlightenment (2020) https://web.archive.org/web/20181006171655/http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/my-thoughtmenu-on-enlightenment-3644
- Led to Systems reformulated (2010): then the system, rewritten. Evidence (implied by the later work): My Thoughtmenu on Enlightenment (2020) https://web.archive.org/web/20181006171655/http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/my-thoughtmenu-on-enlightenment-3644
- Led to Mother of Hydrogen (2012): Puppet, Nuit, Shakti. Evidence (implied by the later work): Mother of Hydrogen: Nuit and Shakti (2012-11) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/mother_of_hydrogen.txt; Mother of Hydrogen: the Puppet totem (2012-11) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/mother_of_hydrogen.txt
- Led to Nath Sampradaya initiation (2004): guru, then lineage. Evidence (implied by the later work): My Thoughtmenu on Enlightenment (2020) https://web.archive.org/web/20181006171655/http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/my-thoughtmenu-on-enlightenment-3644
- Sources (2, by hand first, then by importance): [191](https://guptaoption.com/texts/191.md) My Thoughtmenu on Enlightenment | The Bucky-Gandhi... (2020); [248](https://guptaoption.com/texts/248.md) Vinay Gupta Thought Menu on Enlightenment (2020)

### Sheet-waste question (1995)

- Survival hardware; idea; concept; work id sheet-waste; https://boingboing.net/2011/10/24/tools-to-not-die-with-an-interview-with-vinay-gupta.html
- What: The question behind the Hexayurt: how to build a dome from 4x8 sheets without wasting 25 to 40 percent of each board.
- Summary: The Farm, 1995. How to cover a geodesic dome in 4x8 sheets without losing 25 to 40 percent of each board. WorldView LivingSpace.
- Threads: hexayurt to chain
- Led to Hexayurt (2002): simplest thing that works. Evidence (he says so): Tools To Not Die With: An Interview with Vinay Gupta, creator of the Hexayurt (Boing... (2011-10-24) https://boingboing.net/2011/10/24/tools-to-not-die-with-an-interview-with-vinay-gupta.html; Stamps talk 27:21, The Farm asked him for a geodesic dome with no waste; in 2002 the... (2019-09-23) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJWPv3Cl5Go&t=1641s
- Sources (13, by hand first, then by importance): [752](https://guptaoption.com/texts/752.md) Vinay Gupta: The Cities That Will Walk Away (2019); [321](https://guptaoption.com/texts/321.md) Vinay Gupta talking at FreeAndReal / The Telaithrion... (2012); [251](https://guptaoption.com/texts/251.md) ODM 6981 Oxford Technology and Media Network Climate Change (2020); [114](https://guptaoption.com/texts/114.md) Tools To Not Die With: An Interview with Vinay Gupta,... (2011); [791](https://guptaoption.com/texts/791.md) COP26 Event: Green Blockchain, Green Economy (2021); [375](https://guptaoption.com/texts/375.md) Folding Hexayurt Briefing (2007); [329](https://guptaoption.com/texts/329.md) RAW FOOTAGE Hexayurt Folding Combined Endeavor (2012); [310](https://guptaoption.com/texts/310.md) Engineers Without Borders Sheffield Plywood Hexayurt How To (2015); [336](https://guptaoption.com/texts/336.md) RAW FOOTAGE Hexayurt Roof Cone Combined Endeavor (2012); [339](https://guptaoption.com/texts/339.md) 15 minute video on how to make Hexayurts for Burning Man (2012); [193](https://guptaoption.com/texts/193.md) Nearodesic Polyhedron Hexayurt Dome – Morgan Engel's Site (2011); [373](https://guptaoption.com/texts/373.md) Folding Hexayurt Opening and Closing (2007); ...

### Hexayurt (2002)

- Survival hardware; built; specified; work id hexayurt; https://hexayurt.com/
- What: A public-domain disaster shelter made from whole 4x8 building panels with one diagonal cut.
- Summary: Public-domain shelter from whole 4x8 sheets, one diagonal cut. Simplest thing that works. Fills too cold and too hot at household. Junction of the Farm question and the RMI settlements charrette. Origin, in the 2019 Stamps talk: in spring 2002 at the Rocky Mountain Institute someone asked for a flat-pack refugee shelter that could go on the back of a truck. By 2012 about 1,000 were being built at Burning Man each year (OHM2013).
- Threads: RMI to spiral; STAR-TIDES; fiction draws on; hexayurt builds; hexayurt to chain; nuclear / panflu; standard SKUs
- Came from Sheet-waste question (1995): simplest thing that works. Evidence (he says so): Tools To Not Die With: An Interview with Vinay Gupta, creator of the Hexayurt (Boing... (2011-10-24) https://boingboing.net/2011/10/24/tools-to-not-die-with-an-interview-with-vinay-gupta.html; Stamps talk 27:21, The Farm asked him for a geodesic dome with no waste; in 2002 the... (2019-09-23) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJWPv3Cl5Go&t=1641s
- Came from RMI Sustainable Settlements charrette (2002): second genesis. Evidence (he says so): Tools To Not Die With: An Interview with Vinay Gupta, creator of the Hexayurt (Boing... (2011-10-24) https://boingboing.net/2011/10/24/tools-to-not-die-with-an-interview-with-vinay-gupta.html; The Hexayurt in Haiti? (Hexayurt Country), v1.2 (2010-02-16) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/hexayurt_in_haiti_v1.1.pdf#page=1
- Connects back from Soft Development Paths (2008): development not only relief. Evidence (he says so): Soft Development Paths (guptaoption.com) (2008) https://guptaoption.com/7.soft_development_paths.php; The Hexayurt in Haiti? (Hexayurt Country), v1.2 (2010-02-16) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/hexayurt_in_haiti_v1.1.pdf#page=1
- Led to Six ways people die (2008): shelter is not enough. Evidence (he says so): The systemic risks model for survival (blog) (2008-04-20) http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/hexayurt/the-systemic-risks-model-for-survival-551; Hexayurt Project: Six Ways To Die video 0:00 (2008-10-07) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqNOcmM9XAY&t=0s
- Led to Hexayurt infrastructure kit (2003): autonomous building kit. Evidence (he says so): State in a Box: Identity Services Architecture (guptaoption.com) (2006) https://guptaoption.com/4.SIAB-ISA.php
- Led to Hexacloak (2023): same industrial SKU class. Evidence (he says so): MICA lecture 55:00, if housing comes from a 4x8 sheet, can clothing come from 60-inch... (2024-04-18) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DeO2L8fBe8&t=3300s; MICA roundtable 2:30, bulk material straight from the industrial supply chain with no... (2024-04-24) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oABfflhN3mU&t=150s
- Led to Nuclear / mass evacuation (2007): rehouse after the bomb. Evidence (he says so): A novel approach to handling mass refugee situations in the United States (PDF), p. 1 (2007-08-10) https://www.appropedia.org/w/images/b/b1/Hexayurt_mass_evacuation.pdf#page=1; STAR-TIDES briefing 45:00 (2012-05-04) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfm1Y74ghFE&t=2700s
- Led to Hexayurt Country (2010): Haiti. Evidence (he says so): Hexayurt Country: the Hexayurt Project plan for relief and reconstruction in Haiti (2010-01-22) https://hexayurt.com/hexayurt_country/
- Led to Course of Action (2006): policy wrap. Evidence (he says so): Course of Action (PDF), p. 1 https://files.howtolivewiki.com/Vinay_Gupta_course_of_action.pdf
- Led to STAR-TIDES (2007): shelter in the demos. Evidence (he says so): FreeAndReal talk 15:15 (2012-09-14) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhhzX8AtGRA&t=915s; TIDES packet: Pentagon Center Court Demonstration, p. 1 (2007-11-19) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/TIDES_PACKET/TIDES_PACKET_144AM.pdf
- Led to Mother of Hydrogen (2012): Harappa, hexayurt city. Evidence (he says so): Mother of Hydrogen: arrival at Harappa (2012-11) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/mother_of_hydrogen.txt; Mother of Hydrogen: the compound (2012-11) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/mother_of_hydrogen.txt
- Led to Tribike (2006): appropriate-tech vehicle beside the house. Evidence (implied by the later work): Tribike notes (PDF) (2006) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/tribike/tribike_notes.pdf#page=1
- Led to The Unplugged (2006): the housing of that lifestyle. Evidence (he says so): Tools To Not Die With (Boing Boing) (2011-10-24) https://boingboing.net/2011/10/24/tools-to-not-die-with-an-interview-with-vinay-gupta.html; Appropedia: Hexayurt playa, Hexayurt applications and the big picture https://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_playa
- Led to First hexayurt built (2003): first one on the playa. Evidence (he says so): Meaning 2012 talk 3:07, the first hexayurt, donated cardboard, a week at Burning Man... (2012-10-15) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BORHRKg-VoI&t=187s; hexayurt.com history timeline https://hexayurt.com/
- Led to H13 (2010): full-height door. Evidence (he says so): Appropedia: Hexayurt H13 https://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_project/Hexayurt_H13; hexayurt.com history timeline https://hexayurt.com/
- Led to Camp Danger hinge (2010): folding tape hinge. Evidence (he says so): Vinay Gupta and Julie Danger on Camp Danger Semi Folding Hexayurt 0:00, tape hinges... (2011-05-19) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLBPY3-CpwM&t=0s; Vinay Gupta and Julie Danger on Camp Danger Semi Folding Hexayurt 2:30, the hinge on... (2011-05-19) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLBPY3-CpwM&t=150s
- Led to Quaddome (2011): zero-waste large dome. Evidence (he says so): Stamps talk 37:21, Edmund Harriss's domes built at Burning Man from downloaded designs... (2019-09-23) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJWPv3Cl5Go&t=2241s; MICA lecture 12:30, the big domes: 14 feet high, 28 across, about 450 square feet for... (2024-04-18) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DeO2L8fBe8&t=750s
- Led to Pop-up hexayurt (2023): flat-pack pop-up. Evidence (he says so): hexayurt.com front page, 2023 update https://hexayurt.com/
- Led to One Network, One World: Designing for a 7+ Billion Person World (2013): one planet's worth of consumption. Evidence (he says so): OHM2013 talk 40:00, the core design principle: a family at one planet's worth of... (2013-09-03) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMcxS1nLpig&t=2400s; OHM2013 talk 2:30, we are at 4 to 8 times consumption [transcribed] (2013-09-03) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMcxS1nLpig&t=150s
- Led to The Cities That Will Walk Away (2019): the thirty-year plan, halfway through. Evidence (he says so): The Cities That Will Walk Away talk 29:51 (2019-09-23) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJWPv3Cl5Go&t=1791s
- Led to Ending Poverty With Open Hardware (2008): open hardware against poverty. Evidence (he says so): Reykjavik Digital Freedoms talk 0:00, opens on the hexayurt [transcribed] (2012-05-04) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmfZfgxayzE&t=0s; Ending Poverty With Open Hardware, Reykjavik slides, closing slide (2008-07) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/Reykjavik_Digital_Freedoms_Conference/
- Led to Free housing and 21st Century Leadership (2010): how to be effective after 2002. Evidence (he says so): Free housing and 21st Century Leadership (blog) (2010-08-27) http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/free-housing-and-21st-century-leadership-1930
- Led to Avoid Winter War: Hexayurts and #Occupy (2011): the winter kit, and why it is the wrong answer. Evidence (he says so): Avoid Winter War: Hexayurts and #Occupy (blog) (2011-10-29) http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/advice-for-occupy-avoid-winter-war-2881
- Led to The Physical Aspects of Distributed Infrastructure (2008): shade and ground sink: 10C cooler inside. Evidence (he says so): PADI p. 1, Explaining The Hexayurt in hot, dry climates (2008-06) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/the_physical_aspects_of_distributed_infrastructure_2008.pdf#page=1; PADI p. 6, enhancing the ground sink (2008-06) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/the_physical_aspects_of_distributed_infrastructure_2008.pdf#page=6
- Led to Superstruct and URGENT EVOKE (2008): the Hexayurt written into two games. Evidence (he says so): Superstruct Report 1, 0:00, DCAR field report: hexayurt factories operating [transcribed] (2008-10-05) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCD2x3EuiPA&t=0s; The Unplugged: The Videos (Shareable) (2010-06-08) https://www.shareable.net/the-unplugged-the-videos/
- Led to Hexayurt Refugee Shelter (MICA, Baltimore) (2024): the design family, listed by sheet count. Evidence (he says so): MICA lecture 25:00, Bryan Hellard on the master list: H numbers are sheet counts... (2024-04-18) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DeO2L8fBe8&t=1500s; MICA lecture 10:00, hexayurts as permanent buildings with a real lifespan [transcribed] (2024-04-18) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DeO2L8fBe8&t=600s
- Sources (26, by hand first, then by importance): [753](https://guptaoption.com/texts/753.md) (OHM2013) One network one world designing for a 7 plus... (2013); [36](https://guptaoption.com/texts/36.md) The Hexayurt Project: Free Hardware housing for the world (2002); [100](https://guptaoption.com/texts/100.md) Hexayurt project (2002); [752](https://guptaoption.com/texts/752.md) Vinay Gupta: The Cities That Will Walk Away (2019); [270](https://guptaoption.com/texts/270.md) Hope For The World (2017); [711](https://guptaoption.com/texts/711.md) Vinay Gupta – Hexayurts, Distributed Infrastructure, and... (2014); [294](https://guptaoption.com/texts/294.md) Practice Safe Hex - Burning Man Hexayurt Safety Checklist! (2015); [245](https://guptaoption.com/texts/245.md) Vinay Gupta - Fab 16 presentation (2021); [740](https://guptaoption.com/texts/740.md) Hexayurt Interviews - Vinay Gupta and Bob Vrtis - at... (2017); [118](https://guptaoption.com/texts/118.md) File:Hexayurt at Burning Man 2010.jpg - Wikimedia Commons (2010); [374](https://guptaoption.com/texts/374.md) The Hexayurt Project 2007 Intro Video (2007); [185](https://guptaoption.com/texts/185.md) Hexayurt (2002); ...

### RMI Sustainable Settlements charrette (2002)

- Economics of resources; specified; work id rmi-charrette; http://projects.mindtel.com/2002/02.SustainableSettlements/
- What: Rocky Mountain Institute workshop on sustainable settlements where the Hexayurt idea took shape a second time.
- Summary: Hexayurt's second genesis. Strong Angel in the air. Amory Lovins decentralized infrastructure.
- Threads: RMI to spiral; hexayurt to chain
- Led to Hexayurt (2002): second genesis. Evidence (he says so): Tools To Not Die With: An Interview with Vinay Gupta, creator of the Hexayurt (Boing... (2011-10-24) https://boingboing.net/2011/10/24/tools-to-not-die-with-an-interview-with-vinay-gupta.html; The Hexayurt in Haiti? (Hexayurt Country), v1.2 (2010-02-16) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/hexayurt_in_haiti_v1.1.pdf#page=1
- Led to Small is Profitable (2002): same shop. Evidence (implied by the later work): STAR-TIDES talk at FAHUM 08, 17:30, the household infrastructure idea came from an RMI... (2012-05-04) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArOsc47wX1o&t=1050s; London Real talk 12:30, at RMI he worked on Small is Profitable [transcribed] (2014-02-02) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rys_saLiDA&t=750s
- Sources (5, by hand first, then by importance): [128](https://guptaoption.com/texts/128.md) Black Elephants & Skull Jackets: A Conversation with... (2010); [740](https://guptaoption.com/texts/740.md) Hexayurt Interviews - Vinay Gupta and Bob Vrtis - at... (2017); [114](https://guptaoption.com/texts/114.md) Tools To Not Die With: An Interview with Vinay Gupta,... (2011); [170](https://guptaoption.com/texts/170.md) RMI Sustainable Settlements charrette (2002); [328](https://guptaoption.com/texts/328.md) Papa Bill's Stew-Stick Jam - Marmaduke Dando - First... (2012)

### Small is Profitable (2002) (he edited)

- Economics of resources; argument; specified; work id sip; https://web.archive.org/web/20210920114436/https://rmi.org/insight/small-is-profitable/
- What: Co-edited Rocky Mountain Institute book on the hidden benefits of right-sized, distributed power; The Economist's book of the year 2003.
- Summary: Rocky Mountain Institute. Hidden economic benefits of making electrical resources the right size. Economist book of the year 2003. Distributed energy, not megaprojects.
- Threads: RMI to spiral; social enterprise
- Came from RMI Sustainable Settlements charrette (2002): same shop. Evidence (implied by the later work): STAR-TIDES talk at FAHUM 08, 17:30, the household infrastructure idea came from an RMI... (2012-05-04) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArOsc47wX1o&t=1050s; London Real talk 12:30, at RMI he worked on Small is Profitable [transcribed] (2014-02-02) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rys_saLiDA&t=750s
- Led to Winning the Oil Endgame (2004): RMI efficiency stack; efficiency that pays, including oil; right-sized energy, then the car. Evidence (he says so): When? (blog) (2011-08-16) http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/bigdeal/when-2713; London Real talk 12:30, at RMI he worked on Small is Profitable and Winning the Oil... (2014-02-02) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rys_saLiDA&t=750s
- Led to Global Village Development Bank (2009): small projects as infrastructure. Evidence (he says so): Global Village Development Bank, draft 2, p. 1 (2009-03-12) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/The_Global_Village_Development_Bank_v2.pdf; Reykjavik Digital Freedoms talk 6:07, decentralized infrastructure without World Bank... (2012-05-04) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmfZfgxayzE&t=367s
- Led to Resilience and Opportunity: Effective Tools for Victory in Fourth Generation Wars? (2006): distributed infrastructure creates resilience. Evidence (he says so): Resilience and Opportunity in Fourth Generation Wars (PDF), p. 2 (2006-10-27) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/resilience/Resilience%20and%20Opportunity%20in%20Fourth%20Generation%20Wars%20(Final).pdf
- Led to Three Rules for Designing the Social Enterprise (2009): the capital conversion matrix, first seen at the Rocky Mountain Institute. Evidence (implied by the later work): Three Rules for Designing the Social Enterprise, p. 1 (2009) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/Three_Rules_for_Designing_the_Social_Enterprise.pdf
- Led to The Physical Aspects of Distributed Infrastructure (2008): small electrical resources, at household scale. Evidence (implied by the later work): PADI p. 11, Whole Systems Optimization of Small Electrical Resources (2008-06) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/the_physical_aspects_of_distributed_infrastructure_2008.pdf#page=11; State in a Box: Identity Services Architecture (guptaoption.com) (2006) https://guptaoption.com/4.SIAB-ISA.php
- Sources (19, by hand first, then by importance): [31](https://guptaoption.com/texts/31.md) guptaoption.com/4.SIAB-ISA.php (2006); [266](https://guptaoption.com/texts/266.md) "Blockchain: IoT's trust broker?" talk on the fly by... (2017); [710](https://guptaoption.com/texts/710.md) TEDxEWB - Vinay Gupta - Enabling Humanitarian Innovation (2010); [52](https://guptaoption.com/texts/52.md) When? | The Bucky-Gandhi Design Institution (2011); [144](https://guptaoption.com/texts/144.md) The Future We Deserve: "Facebook for the Five Billion?" (2011); [263](https://guptaoption.com/texts/263.md) Ethereal Summit (2017); [108](https://guptaoption.com/texts/108.md) User:Vinay Gupta/The Unplugged (2006); [3](https://guptaoption.com/texts/3.md) The Global Village Development Bank v2 (2009); [18](https://guptaoption.com/texts/18.md) Exploring Data Generated by Pocket Devices (2013); [17](https://guptaoption.com/texts/17.md) The Physical Aspects of Distributed Infrastructure (2008); [241](https://guptaoption.com/texts/241.md) The Future We Deserve — Our Future and the Sun — Vinay Gupta; [29](https://guptaoption.com/texts/29.md) Saving the World on the Cheap (2007); ...

### Biomimicry database (2003)

- Economics of resources; built; specified; work id biomimicry; https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11843051
- What: Technical lead on the Rocky Mountain Institute era biomimicry database.
- Summary: RMI-era. database.biomimicry.org.
- Sources (5, by hand first, then by importance): [793](https://guptaoption.com/texts/793.md) COP26 Event: The Circular Economy - Finance and Data for... (2021); [168](https://guptaoption.com/texts/168.md) I'm also interested in this question. Here's two things... (2003); [173](https://guptaoption.com/texts/173.md) Index of /files/fluscim (2010); [27](https://guptaoption.com/texts/27.md) Index of /hope_for_the_world (2009); [821](https://guptaoption.com/texts/821.md) Index of /FSFI (2008)

### First hexayurt built (2003)

- Survival hardware; built; specified; work id hy-first-build; https://web.archive.org/web/20050426010855/http://mindismoving.org/hexayurt/hexayurt_gallery/hexayurt_gallery.html
- What: The first Hexayurt prototype, built at Burning Man from cardboard panels.
- Summary: First hexayurt prototype on the playa at Burning Man. Hexacomb cardboard from Pactiv, Heatshield from Innovative Energy, fibre tape from 3M, SketchUp license. A little bigger than a tent.
- Threads: hexayurt builds
- Came from Hexayurt (2002): first one on the playa. Evidence (he says so): Meaning 2012 talk 3:07, the first hexayurt, donated cardboard, a week at Burning Man... (2012-10-15) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BORHRKg-VoI&t=187s; hexayurt.com history timeline https://hexayurt.com/
- Led to H18 (2006): then the tall size. Evidence (implied by the later work): Appropedia: Hexayurt project, sizes and design table https://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt; Appropedia: Hexayurt playa, 12 foot hexayurt aka H18 https://www.appropedia.org/Hexayurt_playa
- Led to Lost swamp cooler (2003): the first build's solar swamp cooler
- Sources (24, by hand first, then by importance): [725](https://guptaoption.com/texts/725.md) Vinay Gupta l Plausible utopias | Meaning 2012 (2012); [36](https://guptaoption.com/texts/36.md) The Hexayurt Project: Free Hardware housing for the world (2002); [294](https://guptaoption.com/texts/294.md) Practice Safe Hex - Burning Man Hexayurt Safety Checklist! (2015); [303](https://guptaoption.com/texts/303.md) How To Sell Ideas from (from Ethereum DEVCON Berlin) (2015); [188](https://guptaoption.com/texts/188.md) Hexayurt Image Gallery (2003); [190](https://guptaoption.com/texts/190.md) Image(80) (2003); [100](https://guptaoption.com/texts/100.md) Hexayurt project (2002); [79](https://guptaoption.com/texts/79.md) Meaning: Plausible Utopias | The Bucky-Gandhi Design... (2012); [245](https://guptaoption.com/texts/245.md) Vinay Gupta - Fab 16 presentation (2021); [102](https://guptaoption.com/texts/102.md) Hexayurt project/Hexayurt playa (2006); [375](https://guptaoption.com/texts/375.md) Folding Hexayurt Briefing (2007); [364](https://guptaoption.com/texts/364.md) burning ice brussels seven minute tour (2011); ...

### Hexayurt infrastructure kit (2003)

- Survival hardware; proposal; specified; work id kit; https://files.howtolivewiki.com/TIDES_PACKET/TIDES_PACKET_144AM.pdf
- What: A household kit around the Hexayurt: water-purifying bottles, dry toilets, efficient stoves and solar lights.
- Summary: SODIS bottles, dry toilets, efficient stoves, solar lighting. Same SKU class: industrially mass-produced goods assembled at the edge.
- Threads: fiction draws on; standard SKUs
- Came from Hexayurt (2002): autonomous building kit. Evidence (he says so): State in a Box: Identity Services Architecture (guptaoption.com) (2006) https://guptaoption.com/4.SIAB-ISA.php
- Connects back from Tribike (2006): mobility in the household kit. Evidence (implied by the later work): A little insight into the Gupta Doctrine (blog) (2014-06-30) http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/a-little-insight-into-the-gupta-doctrine-3571; Stamps talk 41:27, stove, water filter, cargo bicycle, toilets and solar lights all... (2019-09-23) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJWPv3Cl5Go&t=2487s
- Led to Hexacloak (2023): standard sizes, no factory. Evidence (implied by the later work): A little insight into the Gupta Doctrine (blog) (2014-06-30) http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/a-little-insight-into-the-gupta-doctrine-3571; MICA lecture 15:00, stoves, water filters, transport, lighting and toilets in the... (2024-04-18) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DeO2L8fBe8&t=900s
- Led to Mother of Hydrogen (2012): sun, toilets, one storey. Evidence (implied by the later work): Mother of Hydrogen: point-of-use utilities in Harappa (2012-11) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/mother_of_hydrogen.txt
- Led to Akvo (2008): household water, then the WASH org. Evidence (implied by the later work): Ending Poverty With Open Hardware, Reykjavik Digital Freedoms Conference keynote, slide 18 (2008-07) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/Reykjavik_Digital_Freedoms_Conference/; Living Video and the Akvo Video Strategy (blog) (2011-05-03) http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/living-video-and-the-akvo-video-strategy-2467
- Led to The Unplugged (2006): autonomous building as unplugging. Evidence (he says so): The Unplugged (Appropedia, originally WorldChanging) (2006-02-20) https://www.appropedia.org/User:Vinay_Gupta/The_Unplugged; Tools To Not Die With (Boing Boing) (2011-10-24) https://boingboing.net/2011/10/24/tools-to-not-die-with-an-interview-with-vinay-gupta.html
- Led to A little insight into the Gupta Doctrine (2014): the household kit, restated as six to eight machines. Evidence (implied by the later work): A little insight into the Gupta Doctrine (blog) (2014-06-30) http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/a-little-insight-into-the-gupta-doctrine-3571; State in a Box: Identity Services Architecture (guptaoption.com) (2006) https://guptaoption.com/4.SIAB-ISA.php
- Led to The Physical Aspects of Distributed Infrastructure (2008): the kit's utilities, designed. Evidence (implied by the later work): PADI p. 11, household and village electrical services (2008-06) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/the_physical_aspects_of_distributed_infrastructure_2008.pdf#page=11; PADI p. 31, the idealized system (2008-06) https://files.howtolivewiki.com/the_physical_aspects_of_distributed_infrastructure_2008.pdf#page=31
- Sources (7, by hand first, then by importance): [31](https://guptaoption.com/texts/31.md) guptaoption.com/4.SIAB-ISA.php (2006); [100](https://guptaoption.com/texts/100.md) Hexayurt project (2002); [335](https://guptaoption.com/texts/335.md) STAR-TIDES briefing from Vinay Gupta (2012); [740](https://guptaoption.com/texts/740.md) Hexayurt Interviews - Vinay Gupta and Bob Vrtis - at... (2017); [316](https://guptaoption.com/texts/316.md) Vinay Gupta - Maker Faire UK - Newcastle 2014 (2014); [137](https://guptaoption.com/texts/137.md) STAR-TIDES (2007); [360](https://guptaoption.com/texts/360.md) ZOOM0003 (2011)

### Lost swamp cooler (2003)

- Survival hardware; built; specified; work id hy-swamp-cooler; https://groups.google.com/g/hexayurt/c/U2EEBbAfssg
- What: A solar evaporative cooler for the first Hexayurt: a plastic tub, wet rags and a computer fan on a 10-watt panel, with no battery.
- Summary: Built for the first Hexayurt at Burning Man, 2003. A 12-volt panel drives a case fan directly. Inside a plastic tub, washcloths hang in a zig-zag from paperclips over a few gallons of water, and a garbage-bag sheet under the lid, pulled down by the fan, seals the baffles. Off a 10-watt panel it cooled the 6-foot hexayurt and chilled cans. Never documented at the time; described from memory in 2012. The photo on his file server matches the description.
- Threads: hexayurt builds
- Came from First hexayurt built (2003): the first build's solar swamp cooler
- Sources (2, by hand first, then by importance): [17](https://guptaoption.com/texts/17.md) The Physical Aspects of Distributed Infrastructure (2008); [288](https://guptaoption.com/texts/288.md) test (2016)

### Whole-Systems Framework for Sustainable Consumption and Production (2003) (he contributed)

- Economics of resources; model; specified; work id whole-systems-framework; https://www2.mst.dk/Udgiv/publications/2003/87-7972-614-3/html/kolofon_eng.htm
- What: Rocky Mountain Institute report for the Danish Environmental Protection Agency on sustainable consumption and production as one system.
- Summary: Danish EPA Environmental Project No. 807, 2003, produced by the Rocky Mountain Institute. Gupta, Vinay is listed among the authors.
- Threads: RMI to spiral
- Led to Lean Green Mattereum: "We aren't just here to change the world, we're here to fix it" (2020): the 2003 economy model, reused. Evidence (he says so): Lean Green Mattereum deck, slides 82 to 91 (2020) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-enFJujd8rpDbwr8QezH-3YZ2Dpi45h3/view; The Mattereum Manifesto (Medium) (2019-09-30) https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6
- Sources (5, by hand first, then by importance): [165](https://guptaoption.com/texts/165.md) The Mattereum Manifesto: green capitalism, product... (2019); [723](https://guptaoption.com/texts/723.md) "Saving the Climate with Real World Asset NFTs" by Vinay... (2020); [201](https://guptaoption.com/texts/201.md) Colophon, Danish Environmental Protection Agency (2003); [352](https://guptaoption.com/texts/352.md) STAR TIDES SPANISH (2012); [170](https://guptaoption.com/texts/170.md) RMI Sustainable Settlements charrette (2002)

### Nath Sampradaya initiation (2004)

- Writing and inner practice; specified; work id nath-initiation; http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/bigdeal/when-2713
- What: Initiated into the Nath Sampradaya.
- Summary: Initiation in the Nath Sampradaya, 2004.
- Threads: solo practice to the cutting machinery
- Came from Internal dialogue stops (1993): guru, then lineage. Evidence (implied by the later work): My Thoughtmenu on Enlightenment (2020) https://web.archive.org/web/20181006171655/http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/my-thoughtmenu-on-enlightenment-3644
- Led to Systems reformulated (2010): lineage practice, rewritten
- Sources (3, by hand first, then by importance): [692](https://guptaoption.com/texts/692.md) Vinay Gupta:From Global Resilience to Practical... (2019); [52](https://guptaoption.com/texts/52.md) When? | The Bucky-Gandhi Design Institution (2011); [327](https://guptaoption.com/texts/327.md) Papa Bill's Stew-Stick Jam - Marmaduke Dando - Second Song (2012)

### Winning the Oil Endgame (2004) (he edited)

- Economics of resources; proposal; specified; work id woe; https://web.archive.org/web/20190403000236/https://rmi.org/insight/winning-the-oil-endgame/
- What: Rocky Mountain Institute study, Pentagon co-sponsored, on getting the US off oil profitably. Technical assistant to the editor.
- Summary: RMI, Pentagon co-sponsor. Getting the US off oil, led by business for profit. Role: technical assistant to the editor (confirmed by Vinay Gupta, November 2026); the book's production credit also names him. Contains the car-side transport work: ultralight vehicles, efficiency of using oil. The tribike is the other pole.
- Threads: RMI to spiral; environment / green capitalism; transport: tribike and cars
- Came from Small is Profitable (2002): RMI efficiency stack; efficiency that pays, including oil; right-sized energy, then the car. Evidence (he says so): When? (blog) (2011-08-16) http://vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/bigdeal/when-2713; London Real talk 12:30, at RMI he worked on Small is Profitable and Winning the Oil... (2014-02-02) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rys_saLiDA&t=750s
- Led to Product information markets (2019): green capitalism after oil. Evidence (implied by the later work): The Mattereum Manifesto (Medium) (2019-09-30) https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6; FutureRant talk 7:01, RMI's market-based responses [transcribed] (2016-08-29) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mCXTebVaJY&t=421s
- Led to Tribike (2006): cars in Oil Endgame, then the bike; oil in vehicles
- Sources (5, by hand first, then by importance): [128](https://guptaoption.com/texts/128.md) Black Elephants & Skull Jackets: A Conversation with... (2010); [52](https://guptaoption.com/texts/52.md) When? | The Bucky-Gandhi Design Institution (2011); [764] FutureRant - Vinay Gupta Pt 1/4 - "The Mind of Design" (2016) (no text here); [116](https://guptaoption.com/texts/116.md) Vinay Gupta Thinks Tokenizing the World Is the Best Way... (2018); [155](https://guptaoption.com/texts/155.md) Mother of Hydrogen (2012)

### Asset Passport conceived (2006)

- Identity, law and blockchain; idea; concept; work id map-concept; https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6
- What: First idea for the Asset Passport: digital identity for objects, conceived alongside CheapID.
- Summary: January 2026 essay: conceived 2006 as digital identity, far ahead of even bitcoin. Public intro 2019.
- Threads: CheapID to Mattereum; cryptographic applications; environment / green capitalism
- Came from CheapID (2006): conceived 2006; far ahead of even bitcoin. Evidence (he says so): Global real estate rail (Humanizing the Singularity) (2026-01-21) https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/half-a-trillion-dollars-a-year-of-magic-blockchain-ai-and-the-future-of-the-built-environment-69e1972f6b79; Coin Telegraph AMA with Mattereum's Vinay Gupta, 14 August 2023 (2023-08-31) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu5bFKPqLDg&t=2738s
- Led to Mattereum (2017): passport on goods. Evidence (he says so): Global real estate rail (Humanizing the Singularity) (2026-01-21) https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/half-a-trillion-dollars-a-year-of-magic-blockchain-ai-and-the-future-of-the-built-environment-69e1972f6b79; The Mattereum Manifesto: green capitalism, product information markets, and the blockchain (2019-09) https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6
- Led to Ethereum launch (2015): the chain those hashes needed. Evidence (he says so): Global real estate rail (Humanizing the Singularity) (2026-01-21) https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/half-a-trillion-dollars-a-year-of-magic-blockchain-ai-and-the-future-of-the-built-environment-69e1972f6b79; The Mattereum Manifesto: green capitalism, product information markets, and the blockchain (2019-09) https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6
- Led to Product information markets (2019): identity of things, then a market for facts. Evidence (he says so): The Mattereum Manifesto (Medium) (2019-09-30) https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/how-post-industrial-capitalism-and-a-new-type-of-big-data-will-save-the-planet-6574b1d75bf6; Half a Trillion Dollars a Year of Magic (Mattereum, Medium) (2026-01-21) https://medium.com/humanizing-the-singularity/half-a-trillion-dollars-a-year-of-magic-blockchain-ai-and-the-future-of-the-built-environment-69e1972f6b79
- Sources (5, by hand first, then by importance): [165](https://guptaoption.com/texts/165.md) The Mattereum Manifesto: green capitalism, product... (2019); [716](https://guptaoption.com/texts/716.md) How do we control the material world with smart... (2018); [167](https://guptaoption.com/texts/167.md) Global real estate rail (2026); [565](https://guptaoption.com/texts/565.md) Coin Telegraph AMA with Mattereum's Vinay Gupta 14th... (2023); [669](https://guptaoption.com/texts/669.md) ‘Accurate Data, the Semantic Web and the Semantic... (2022)