The Promise of Decentralisation: DePsy, DeFi, DAOs and Dandelion

Join Stephen Reid, founder of the Psychedelic Society, lead developer of dandelion.earth and initiator of the Autopia DAO, for a four-week deep dive into decentralised systems, with a particular focus on decentralised finance (DeFi), decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) and decentralised psychedelia (DePsy). The course is filled with practical exercises to help embed the ideas.

The course will take place 5pm-7pm UK time via Zoom on:

• Thursday 6th May 2021
• Thursday 13th May 2021
• Tuesday 18th May 2021 (note: Tuesday not Thursday this week)
• Thursday 27th May 2021

Sessions will be recorded and shared (so you can catch up if you're late/miss one).

You will be sent pre-reading/watching a few days before each session (allow 1 hour), and homework at the end of each session (allow 1 hour). To get the most out of the course you should also set aside at least 2 hours per session to go back through the notes, read some of the links provided and make sure you understand everything we've covered. So that's a minimum of 6 hours per session for maximum benefit (2 hours live, 1 hour pre-reading/watching, 2 hours revision, 1 hour homework).

There are only 5 low income spaces. Please bear this in mind if considering this option.

Feedback from Stephen's courses

“The course covers a tremendous amount of material in a very short time. This is only possible because the teacher is outstanding. On offer are directly applicable advice and strategies to take advantage of the new economics made possible by the development of the internet and cryptography.”

“Worth every gwei! Fantastic introduction, really detailed notes that I have already gone back to several times to help clarify my subsequent interactions with the crypto world. I feel like I went on a journey over the course of the month - from crypto curious, to crypto trader, and have come out the other side as a better informed, slower-paced crypto enthusiast. Crypto and DeFi are really energetic and hypey spaces and it's easy to get lost in the buzz. Stephen's grounded approach and thoughtfulness about the field helped pull me out the other side and consider how I can help meaningful crypto projects rather than fixate on crypto as a cash cow.”

“Insightful peak into the mysterious world of crypto! Thank you Stephen for creating and delivering this course which I think is well suited to beginners like myself. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but feel like I have peeked into another world - one that gives another alternative reality and story away from the “beaten track” of centralised banks and systems that are all we know today. Would recommend to friends!”

Course schedule

The schedule is subject to change to ensure maximal relevance in this fast-changing space.

Session 1: Introduction to Decentralisation

• What is decentralisation?
• Decentralised v distributed systems
• Why decentralise?
• History of decentralisation
• Decentralisation in nature
• Decentralised food, energy and connectivity

Session 2: DeFi

• What is money?
• What is cryptocurrency?
• What is DeFi (decentralised finance)?
• Key projects
  • Automated Market Makers: Uniswap, Sushiswap, Pancakeswap, THORChain & Curve
  • Oracles: Chainlink, UMA, Band Protocol and API3
  • TeFi and synthetics: Terra, Mirror, Anchor and Synthetix
  • Money markets: Maker, Aave and Compound
• Parallels to platform co-operativism
• Beyond DeFi: ReFi (regenerative finance)?

Session 3: DAOs

• DAOs (decentralised autonomous organisations)
• DiSCOs (distributed co-operative organisations)
• Parallels with steward ownership
• Relationship to Teal, holocracy and sociocracy
• BBLLCs (blockchain-based limited liability companies)

Session 4: DePsy & Dandelion Gatherings

• 'DePsy': Decentralised Psychedelia
  • An antidote to psychedelic capitalism?
• Dark Net marketplaces
• Mushroom growing
• Nowhere and the Borderland: European Burner Culture
• Dandelion gatherings

About Stephen

Stephen Reid is a co-operative technologist and cultural changemaker who has trained in the fields of complexity science, physics, software development, meditation, psychotherapy, plant medicine, conscious sexuality and political activism. He is currently a co-director of Dandelion Collective (the not-for-profit worker co-operative behind the Psychedelic Society, which he founded in 2014), the lead developer of dandelion.earth, founder of the Autopia DAO and associated AUT token, teacher of the Tools for the Regenerative Renaissance and Introduction to Crypto & DeFi courses, and a contributor to Enspiral.

Previously, he was the youngest ever board member of Greenpeace UK, was selected as the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Totnes, co-founded the New Economics Foundation's New Economy Organisers Network and worked as a technology consultant for organisations including the Labour Party, the Living Wage Foundation and 350.org. Stephen has an MPhys in Physics from the University of Oxford, where he specialised in quantum field theory, and an MRes in Complexity Sciences from the University of Bristol.

REFUNDS POLICY: Please note, we do not arrange refunds or exchanges. When possible we encourage reselling on Ticketswap.

ACCESS:  We do our best to include everyone in our events, regardless of health circumstances. If you have access requirements please email the event organiser directly to discuss. Many facilitators are able to offer reduced ticket prices for those truly unable to afford the ticket price. If this applies to you, do please get in touch with the event organiser.

For PSYCHEDELIC KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCES please check out the Psychedelic Society website. 

Our facilitators have agreed to our code of conduct. Learn about our procedure for raising concerns

MEMBERS of the Psychedelic Society get a discount off almost all of our events.
Join from £5 a month and become part of this amazing community with invites to special events and more.