OT: This week could be huuuuge

[Boom Boom]

What "advantage" do other projects have over bitcoin that can't be addressed with code? Honest question. I'm not aware of any, but I'd be happy to hear arguments.

The bitcoin protocol is governed by consensus. It can be changed (and has), but it is not easy to change. The political analogy is the US Constitution.

The consensus mechanism enforces 21 million. Users would have to act against their own self interest to violate 21 million. The reason other projects can (and do) inflate is because they are centrally controlled. Anyone who sees this as an advantage is free to choose those projects. None of them have supplanted bitcoin.

The mistake here is thinking that bitcoin is like Blockbuster: A company selling something. Bitcoin is a base layer protocol. TCP/IP is a better analogy. TCP/IP has been the standard since 1983. Are you still waiting for something better to come along?

Bitcoin does one thing really well. Money is a ledger, and bitcoin is the best ledger there is. You are the one making a claim that requires support: Something that may or may not exist yet is inevitably going to supplant bitcoin. I'm not convinced.

BTC can make whatever change is needed, and can't be changed. It is Schrodinger's coin.

A better mousetrap ALWAYS comes along. Reality.

 

[mstateglfr]

BTC can make whatever change is needed, and can't be changed. It is Schrodinger's coin.

A better mousetrap ALWAYS comes along. Reality.

This comment sparked a super obscure memory and reference. There was an all knowing all seeing Trash Heap in Fraggle Rock.
For some reason, I thought of that with how you jokingly describe bitcoin in the present and all versions of the future.

...pretty sure this will be the most obscure pop culture reference I think of this week.

 

[pseudonym]

BTC can make whatever change is needed, and can't be changed. It is Schrodinger's coin.

I never said bitcoin's source code can't be changed. Like the US Constitution, it can be changed, but it is extremely difficult. This makes widely supported changes possible while making the most harmful changes extremely unlikely. For example, these two things can be true at the same time:

1. The US Constitution can be amended.
2. The repeal of Articles I and III, making the President the Monarch is an extremely unlikely change.

I don't accept your false dilemma that EITHER

1. bitcoin's source code must be ossified OR
2. bitcoin's source code will be changed to introduce a fatal flaw

 

[Boom Boom]

I would say a private sector good with the famed agility of the US government is probably not ideal. Good luck with that.

Also, if it's a 51% thing for a BTC code change, I doubt you'd get a change through for ANYTHING.

I never said bitcoin's source code can't be changed. Like the US Constitution, it can be changed, but it is extremely difficult. This makes widely supported changes possible while making the most harmful changes extremely unlikely. For example, these two things can be true at the same time:

1. The US Constitution can be amended.
2. The repeal of Articles I and III, making the President the Monarch is an extremely unlikely change.

I don't accept your false dilemma that EITHER

1. bitcoin's source code must be ossified OR
2. bitcoin's source code will be changed to introduce a fatal flaw

 

[jethreauxdawg]

I never said bitcoin's source code can't be changed. Like the US Constitution, it can be changed, but it is extremely difficult. This makes widely supported changes possible while making the most harmful changes extremely unlikely. For example, these two things can be true at the same time:

1. The US Constitution can be amended.
2. The repeal of Articles I and III, making the President the Monarch is an extremely unlikely change.

I don't accept your false dilemma that EITHER

1. bitcoin's source code must be ossified OR
2. bitcoin's source code will be changed to introduce a fatal flaw

How do you change the source code? All owners vote on it? Who controls the source code? Who is the actual person that can type on the keyboard and change the code?

 

[pseudonym]

How do you change the source code? All owners vote on it? Who controls the source code? Who is the actual person that can type on the keyboard and change the code?

Good question. Anyone can propose a change to bitcoin. It's called a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP). If a proposal gets traction, it is heavily scrutinized. If consensus is reached, it can be activated. Not every BIP requires a code change to Bitcoin Core, but if it does, the change is tested and integrated as part of the path to activation. At the end of the day, bitcoin is software, and you can run whatever software you want. BIPs are backward compatible, so nodes don't have to upgrade to remain members of the network.

What Is a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP)? | River Learn - Bitcoin Technology

Learn about Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs), their role in Bitcoin's development, and how they ensure transparency and community-driven decisions.

river.com

• A Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) is a formal proposal to change Bitcoin.
• The BIP process organizes the Bitcoin community in the absence of a centralized leader.
• BIPs can propose changes to Bitcoin's consensus layer, community standards, or the development process.

 

[pseudonym]

I would say a private sector good with the famed agility of the US government is probably not ideal. Good luck with that.

Also, if it's a 51% thing for a BTC code change, I doubt you'd get a change through for ANYTHING.

We can start a separate US Constitution thread, but the difficulty of changing the Constitution (and bitcoin) is a feature, not a bug.

Crypto has adopted the Silicon Valley motto Move Fast and Break Things. Bitcoin has not. This motto isn't compatible with base-layer money.

It's not a 51% thing. The bar is higher than that. And there have been numerous changes activated. I discussed in another reply:

What Is a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP)? | River Learn - Bitcoin Technology

Learn about Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs), their role in Bitcoin's development, and how they ensure transparency and community-driven decisions.

river.com

 

[Boom Boom]

View attachment 547659

We can start a separate US Constitution thread, but the difficulty of changing the Constitution (and bitcoin) is a feature, not a bug.

Crypto has adopted the Silicon Valley motto Move Fast and Break Things. Bitcoin has not. This motto isn't compatible with base-layer money.

It's not a 51% thing. The bar is higher than that. And there have been numerous changes activated. I discussed in another reply:

What Is a Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP)? | River Learn - Bitcoin Technology

Learn about Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs), their role in Bitcoin's development, and how they ensure transparency and community-driven decisions.

river.com

All that....but any needed change will be implemented as soon as necessary. Schrodinger's coin.

 

[pseudonym]

 

[mstateglfr]

The keyboard with a swastika key back and forth was 17ing hilarious.