Sybil Resistance Through Physical Co-Presence

What This Is

Research on using physics-based identity verification (one body, one location, one time) to achieve complete Sybil resistance without biometrics, surveillance, or specialized hardware. Includes the formal academic paper, a kitchen-table accessible version, and a neurobiology-informed implementation analysis connecting oxytocin/vasopressin pathways to system design.

Status

Complete

Key Finding

The Sybil problem was solved by physics before computers existed. If every human on Earth is counted in the same 60-minute window, one body cannot appear in two places. Combined with BLE continuous presence attestation and vouch chains, this achieves 100% Sybil resistance with zero surveillance. The "cost" of the system -- forced human connection -- is reframed as its primary output.

Evidence

Physics: one body cannot occupy two locations simultaneously (no technology exists or is theoretically possible to violate this)

Precedent: Australia's mandatory voting since 1924, >90% compliance with a $20 fine

Neurobiology: oxytocin-vasopressin research (Carter 2017, Kosfeld et al. 2005) shows in-person interactions trigger trust pathways

Comparison: Worldcoin (spoofable iris scans), BrightID (bootstrappable fake subgraphs), Proof of Humanity (improving deepfakes) all fail because they let one body appear at multiple times

Related Research

../ble_mesh_networking/ -- BLE continuous presence attestation is the technical mechanism enforcing the 60-minute co-presence window

../emergency_response/ -- The community mesh that carries the quarterly count also enables real-time emergency response

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