Good write-up. The Australian tax thing in the Reddit is another good example. And yes, those of us from Tennessee do not take kindly to folks trying to play us for a fool. ;)
So why would be want people to think that he's Satoshi? He will probably end up owing money to the Australian government. Wouldn't they try to force him to sell Bitcoin? If he could, I mean.
Have you seen him in interviews or descriptions of his companies? He wants notoriety with benefits it can bring or he's screwing around with people. Those two are reasons for epic levels of bullshit all over the globe going back thousands of years. Should always consider those. Also, realize sometimes you won't understand the Why of what people would do and focus on the What/How/Evidence. That helps with the stranger ones. ;)
One intuitive moment I had in first story I read was how one person asked his wife about it. If she knew he was Satoshi, she'd likely have a neutral, cautious, or irritated dismissal of the claim. Instead, I think it said something along the lines of her smirking and walking off. More like a wife reacting, as usual, to a husband's bullshit she's seen 100 times that isn't worth further consideration and the fact the person asking hasn't figured that out yet. Maybe my mental bias but her reaction stuck out a bit to me on top of more solid evidence.
I gotcha. Can't go on that myself. Yet, I understand the intuition pulling you in that direction based on patterns you saw. Just as I had mine about Wright's character via his actions and his wife's responses.
Why would anyone want people to think they're extremely rich and clever? Well, ego for one thing, another is that a conman could make use of that to smooth some paths wherever he goes.
