Flexible Quote by Nick Szabo
“There's a strong distinction to be made between dry code smart contacts and wet code's physical law. So law is based on our minds, our wetware - it's based on analogy. The law is more flexible; software is more rigid. Various laws tend to be batched in jurisdictional silos. Software tends to be independent.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Nature of Law and Code”, 2015
Legal principles are analogical and flexible, while software code is rigid and deterministic, leading to different governance structures.
In simple terms: Law adapts like the mind, code is fixed.
Key Takeaway
Understand the limits of code in regulating behavior.
Themes
law
technology
governance
Mood
analytical
critical
Type
theoretical
practical
When to use this quote
- contract drafting
- AI regulation
- software licensing
- policy making
Key Concepts
analogy
rigidity
jurisdictional silos
Questions to Reflect On
- Can law be encoded effectively?
- Where does flexibility matter most?
A Different Perspective
Code cannot capture the nuance of human judgment.
