[CryptoPunk]

>>The question purposed is "are cryptocurrencies a worthy alternative to existing mediums of exchange".

The question was never posed by the story submitted. It was asked as a segue into a missive against cryptocurrencies and the alleged unfairness of those with foresight to mine early getting rich as a result of the market value of what they mined rising.

>>and then the rules change for new users who exert the same work energy to receive less payment.

Like I said, not only is this inaccurate (e.g. the rules never change in mining), this is a major diversion from the topic of the story, and is going to turn this into another cryptocurrency debate, which you seem intent on having.

[nosuchthing]

  Like I said, not only is this inaccurate (e.g. the rules 
  never change in mining)

You are incorrect.

https://blockchain.info/charts/difficulty?timespan=all

https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/40411/can-a-smar...

The topic of the story covers the history of money.

The comment merely informs the history of crypto currencies like Bitcoin which is marketed as an alternative money ( "Bitcoin, an Electronic Cash System" ). The minting, economics, and game theory of said crypto currencies is the highlight of the comment in regards to money/value/exchange systems.

The author of the paper, Nick Szabo, is a direct contributor to the concepts behind the current trend of crypto exchange systems.

See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_of_exchange

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_currency

[CryptoPunk]

The difficulty changes don't involve a rule change. The difficulty is always determined by the same set of rules.

>>The author of the paper, Nick Szabo, is a direct contributor to the concepts behind the current trend of crypto exchange systems.

That only tangentially connects this to cryptocurrency. The topic of the paper is the origins of money, with a heavy emphasis on early human prehistory. Like I said, if you have an axe to grind against cryptocurrency and those who had the foresight to mine it early, save it for another thread and don't turn this one into yet another debate about it.