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Bitcoin

PaulieworldPaulieworld
in Other

I watched a great documentary about Bitcoin a while ago, then did some reading. The details are way over my head, but the concept seems pretty simple. Your thoughts? Pros and cons?

Comments

  • wimwim

    Yes.

  • wimwim
    edited May 29

    There's a vast thread, over three years old probably, with passionate and ultimately useless discussion, should you care to dive in. I bet if the same discussion was started today, it would unfold exactly the same. Despite the age of the thread, not a thing has changed about the fundamentals. Back then I had opinions. Now not so much.

    I made a decent return on one very modest crypto investment, and eventually broke even on another. That's a better track record than I had on the rest of my eventually abandoned investment trading journey.

  • PaulieworldPaulieworld

    @wim said:
    There's a vast thread, over three years old probably, with passionate and ultimately useless discussion, should you care to dive in. I bet if the same discussion was started today, it would unfold exactly the same. Despite the age of the thread, not a thing has changed about the fundamentals. Back then I had opinions. Now not so much.

    I made a decent return on one very modest crypto investment, and eventually broke even on another. That's a better track record than I had on the rest of my eventually abandoned investment trading journey.

    I am approaching retirement and have no plans to get into the game. However, I still find the whole thing to be intriguing and confusing. My biggest question is…

    How does mining create actual “value” by solving complex math problems?

    It all sounds like a big confidence game, but there must be a reason that sophisticated investors get involved. I guess I’m just stuck in the old fashioned way of thinking. Work hard and invest your earnings with experienced “experts” with the promise of a return. I just don’t understand how playing a computer game creates actual value. By value, I mean something physical that I can trade for goods and services with other survivors after we nuke the planet, or get hit by a comet.

  • McDMcD

    @Paulieworld Bitcoin goes deep into the mathematical techniques of cryptography but here’s an overview of the rational behind the way new “bitcoins” are scarce by making the process take a lot of luck, time and resources to win a contest for the next coin. Don’t be surprised if the math is beyond your comprehension... mastering new vocabulary and concepts which they called “pre-requisites” when I wanted to take a interesting college elective are a big part of the problem. I tried taking a Post Graduate class in “Digital Sound Processing” and quickly realized I passed all the undergraduate math classes but quickly forgot most of of the required equations needed to take that first test… big mistake.

    The theory you are referring to is called Proof of Work (PoW), and the process of running these math calculations is known as Bitcoin mining.

    >

    Despite how it sounds, computers aren't doing complex calculus or solving long algebra equations to "create" a coin. Instead, they are playing a massive, high-speed game of digital guess-and-check.
    Here is a plain-English breakdown of how it works:

    1. The Digital Ledger (The Block)
      Think of the Bitcoin network as a global accounting book. Every ten minutes, a new page of transactions (a "block") needs to be checked, approved, and permanently locked into the book.
      To lock the page and earn the reward (newly created Bitcoin), miners must find a specific digital signature for that block.

    2. The "Math" is Actually a Cryptographic Guessing Game
      The network uses a mathematical function called SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm). This function takes any piece of data and turns it into a fixed-length string of numbers and letters, called a "hash."

    The Bitcoin network sets a rule: To approve this block, you must find a hash that starts with a certain number of zeros.

    Because of how cryptography works, it is mathematically impossible to predict what the output will be based on the input. The only way to find a winning hash is to guess.

    1. The Guess-and-Check Process
      Miners take the data from the current transactions, add a random string of numbers called a nonce (number used once), and run it through the SHA-256 function.
      Guess 1: Does the hash start with 20 zeros? No.
      Guess 2 (change the nonce by one digit): Does it start with 20 zeros? No.
      Guess 3: No.

    A single modern mining rig makes trillions of these guesses every single second.

    So, mastery of the math, crypto and managing a large compute cluster is the first barrier to entry. But then you compete with large group to see if you’re lucky and can win the next coin in an open race for the prize. It’s a mathematical way to insure the ongoing scarcity of bitcoin mining inventory.

  • PaulieworldPaulieworld

    @McD I’m sure the math is well above my comprehension! I got as far as Calculus. I think the biggest problem was my professor, Dr. Ewell. He was Jamaican, with such a thick accent that nobody could understand him. He also had a tendency to ramble. One of his favorite expressions was… Let us now go off on a tangent. Fortunately, my neighbor was Gordon Goodman, a famous physicist at Argonne Labs. He tutored me at no cost! He had the ability to take a complex problem and break it down into digestible pieces. He called them “dodges”. He was actually a really nice guy and fun to be with at neighborhood cookouts. We played Jarts. Those are probably a scarce commodity now.

    When I think about complex math, I think of the Millennium Problems. I’ve read the descriptions, and have no idea what they are even talking about, except for Reimann. I have a personal interest in that one. I was discussing prime numbers with my 7 year old niece one day. That alone is amazing. I explained what they are and asked her to name a few. I think she got as far as 23 when I interrupted her and said… that’s very good, honey! She paused for a few seconds. I could see the gears turning. She said… there’s a bunch more! I wonder what she will do with the million dollars when she finds the pattern. She will probably say… It’s actually really easy, Uncle Paulie.

    Anyway, back to Bitcoin. Who is this mysterious Mr. Nakamoto? On the surface his idea is brilliant. In theory, it eliminates governments and their banking systems. In the real world, not so much. Yogi Berra had a great quote on that subject. Instead of multiple banking systems, there will be just one. The one world government. Because of basic human nature, the OWG will break down very quickly into small groups of hungry, vicious killers. Think Mad Max. I have written songs about it. Just A Raggedy Man, Play Something Tragic, and my 3-part End Of Days. I used your materials for part 3.

    Nobody will care about Bitcoin, or any type of fiat currency. Canned goods and long guns will be king. It will happen, and it will be fast. We will all wake up one day and… BAM! We are located between Chicago, Argonne, and Fermilab, so we probably won’t take a direct hit. In the meantime, I’ll just fiddle with my iPad while Rome burns.

    We’re looking forward to the Woodridge Jubilee summer festival and the bingo tent. One of my old friends is playing with his “classic rock” band. He’s 72. I asked him to play My Generation.

    Make some more music. That’s a direct order. :D

  • McDMcD
    edited June 11

    @Paulieworld Wow! Jarts:

    After causing thousands of severe injuries and the tragic deaths of three children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a total ban on the sale of all traditional, metal-tipped lawn darts on December 19, 1988. Officials even urged consumers to destroy their existing sets to prevent further accidents.

    You know that scene in action movies where the “confession specialist” lays out his the tools of that dark art: they should include a set of Jarts along with the knives, saws, bolt cutters and Jerry Lewis movies on VHS tapes.

  • PaulieworldPaulieworld

    Johnny Seven OMA (One Man Army)

    1. Anti-Bunker Missile
    2. Armor-Piercing Shell
    3. Anti-Tank Rocket
    4. Grenade Launcher
    5. Bolt-Action Rifle
    6. Tommy Gun
    7. Detachable Pistol

    Every kid in the neighborhood had one of these... or the Napolean Solo gun.

  • PaulieworldPaulieworld
    edited June 16

    @McD I used about 20 seconds of Fallen Heroes in my latest on SoundCloud. It really adds some drama at just the right moment. I called it Best Served Cold. I credited you in the description. Hope you like it. Have a good one.

  • McDMcD

    @Paulieworld said:
    @McD I used about 20 seconds of Fallen Heroes in my latest on SoundCloud. It really adds some drama at just the right moment. I called it Best Served Cold. I credited you in the description. Hope you like it. Have a good one.

    I will check it out right after a re-listen to “Fallen Heroes” so I spot the re-mix. I recall Fallen Heroes might have a bugle call reference.

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