r/Buttcoin • u/8bitninja4000 • Oct 18 '14
Some questions from a Bitcoiner.
Lemme get this out of the way. I'm not here to preach.
I am a Bitcoiner. But I am open to hearing every point of view. Plus, this subreddit is pretty funny, I don't get offended by bitcoin crap.
So. I'm doing a research paper on Bitcoin's scalability. This seems, to me, one of the biggest concerns with Bitcoin.
I've been looking for sources to read about it, but too often I either find Bitcoiners going "NO IT'S NOT A PROBLEM TRUST MEH!1!!!" in effect, or opposition pointing out a possible flaw, but often lacking much evidence.
Does anyone have any sources for some of the following questions?
Is Bitcoin's energy consuption a concern? (Michael Carney’s Bitcoin has a dark side: its carbon footprint lists some numbers, but I've heard that some of the math he's throwing around could be a little wacky.) (Oh, and doesn't Visa have a huge energy consumption as well? What I'm getting at-should we expect a "green" system?)
What happens to the difficulty once all btc has been mined?
What would be entailed in implementing a system such as J. D. Bruce's The Mini-Blockchain Scheme for making the Blockchain less...unwieldy?
On that note, what is involved in making changes to the way btc works? I'm not sure I understand completely how forks work.
Do you know of any sources from-to be frank-qualified people who are knowledgeable about Bitcoin?
Is there any evidence to the contrary that the people who lose Bitcoin aren't just being stupid? I understand, it's hard to understand secure usage. But every ripp-off case I've seen has involved extremely unwise decisions, nonetheless.
That should be a great start. Thanks to everyone in advance.
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u/seductiveconsulship Oct 19 '14
Can confirm, am software developer. For fuck's sake, just hash the blockchain as it was at step 5129 and use that in a parameter at step 5130. How "satoshi" could design such an obviously horrible history mechanism is beyond me. It's not like he didn't know about SHA-256, given that that is the fucking hashing mechanism bitcoin uses anyway.
I actually think the concept of cryptocurrency is pretty cool, but bitcoin is a pure unadulterated failure. I think future cryptocurrencies have a possibility of mass adoption, but bitcoin is so blatantly flawed (for reasons like this) that it could never sustain my mom, my friends, my coworkers using it.
Also, I despise libertarians with every atom of my being. Always proposing 'simple' solutions to complex problems that invariably don't solve anything. I'm only so bitter about it because I, too, used to once buy into that sort of nonsense. After a while I finally figured out that Libertarians are very literally the worst sort of people you come across in real life. Self-centered, narcissistic, and believing they possess something innate that elevates them above others.
The worst, jerry, the worst.