A bitcoin lover interviews a bitcoin realist. Kudos to both of them for conducting a civil and informative interview. Important question around minute 12:
No, there’s nothing interesting at the core. There’s no “technology” at the core. It’s just an array, which is a universal part of every computer program. The bitcoin array is an array of structs, which is nearly universal.
The interview guest doesn’t reach the deepest point. He does argue powerfully against the analogies and metaphors and “use cases” proposed by the bitcoin scammers.
= = = = = REPRINT YET AGAIN:
Two weeks ago I explored the original C++ code by ‘Satoshi’.
I was assuming the chain is a linked list or nodelist. It’s just a simple array, with expandable memory. The ‘chainness’ only means that each item in the array is a vector or struct including its own data, the date and time, and the serial number of the previously made item.
In short: The magic qualities imputed to the blockchain are NOT IN THE BASIC CODE. The magic qualities are in the decisions made by the various scammers who run the various systems. Some of these decisions are written as code, but they’re not implicit in the basic definition.
The decisions create a commerce system with maximum VISCOSITY, making fast transactions more costly than slow transactions, and increasing the cost exponentially toward the end of the container. Like an open jar of honey sitting on the table and drying out. Some of the viscosity is inherent in the basic code. Each transaction, or each increase in “currency”, makes the single array longer and harder and slower to search. The supposed 21 million endpoint is not inherent in the part I’ve seen.
I’ve been trying to think of a physical metaphor. Here’s one possibility.
An array of structs in C++ is just a file cabinet in physical reality. Each struct is a folder with a title on the cover and some information inside.
When you add a struct to an array in an ordinary computer, you simply write more bits into memory or the hard disk. This costs nothing at all. When your total storage starts to reach the capacity of your hard disk, you add another disk, for a few hundred dollars.
With a physical file cabinet, you can buy new folders cheaply in bulk. The current price from LDProducts is about $40 for a box of 100 folders, or 40 cents per folder. When you fill one cabinet you can buy a new cabinet for a few hundred bucks. Same price range as the software expansion in an ordinary computer. No big deal for even the smallest business.
Bitcoin file folders cost (as of this afternoon) $15,500 per folder. The price and scarcity are meant to increase as other people fill the ONE GLOBAL CABINET, which means that your price doesn’t depend on your own usage. When the global total of folders reaches 21 million, all cabinets everywhere are automatically locked. No change or expansion is possible.
This part of the system is not in the basic code; it’s an agreement among the whales who know how to addict the Greater Fools.
= = = = = END FUCKING REPRINT.
As a juror I’d have a hard time judging this case. No Humans Involved. The investors in Sammy’s crime were all criminals. They were all rich monsters with the same mindset as Sammy, professional criminals who live for cheating and stealing. Every move in life must be a trick or a swindle, aimed at enriching ME and impoverishing all Negative Externalities. The investors thought they could pull one over on Sammy, and ultimately they did by engaging their pet “law” system. I’d have much less trouble with the NFT frauds that prey on unpopular people who can’t afford to bet a few billion here and there.
Polistra's Mill 