Bitcoin Darjeeling on Nostr: ...

quoting naddr1qv…mzww

We Bitcoiners are well aware of the phrase and use it daily in explanations. The use of “Proof of work” is always tied to mining bitcoin. It is always shown as very hard and specialized type of work. This work is shown to be done only by some special type of computers and requires high amounts of electricity.

This manner of explanation although correct, greatly narrows the idea behind the phrase. To mine bitcoin, one had to get those specialized computers. Need to buy those amounts of electricity power. Need to buy or rent land. All these things also need to be bought with money. And as the thousand year saying goes, work more to earn more.

So there was ordinary work done by many to accumulate the amount of money to setup a mining rig. The ordinary work like that of a farmer, carpenter, driver, mason, software engineer, banker, chemist and what not. That ordinary work is the idea of that phrase. The work is not about mining bitcoin. The work is not some abstract mathematics puzzle. That ordinary work produced a proof and was given today’s fiat money in exchange. If that ordinary work produced a broken chair for example, the proof would fail and no money would be exchanged. If the work of a welder did not prove the iron gate that locks properly, no money would be earned.

That is the real proof of work. It has been all around us since the start of ages when we needed a proper fencing from wild animals. So it does not only mean that proof of work is needed to “mine” some bitcoins. Proof of work is needed to get any bitcoins. Even to buy them from an exchange. And stronger the proof, i.e. if one delivers a better product from their ordinary work, the the more money they can get. And then buy even more bitcoin.

The proof work work is not just for mining. It applies even more to how society functions. When the reward of the work is a hard asset, like gold or bitcoins, there is going to be a competition to produce even better quality work. Look at the art works. Look at the big monuments constructed many hundred years ago. The result of the work that produced the Taj Mahal. The money that backed it was gold and silver. India did not have easy gold or silver mines. So how they accumulated so much wealth? Being very good agriculturists. Gold and silver would come in boats to buy grains. Gold from Persia would come by mud roads traveling thousands of kilometers to buy steel. Iron and steel factory is a very labour intensive work. It also needs very good knowledge of metallurgy. There was known proof that Indian steel makes excellent swords and other tools.

Work that is rewarded by a hard asset is also the great economic equalizer. It will gradually give more and more rewards to those who are very good at their work. Those who love their work. Those who try to refine and get more efficient. Those who can collaborate with others. Those who are helped by others. It will also automatically filters out the ones who are forced into doing the wrong job. Those who don’t enjoy what they do. Those who don’t feel the need to compete. Very quickly even they will discover their own skills. And join the revolution of producing great proofs of their unique work. And the rewards start coming. The rewards in PoW are more linear in nature. They are tend to get less and less affected by opportunities, place, country, language or culture or even time. The rewards don’t flow through one who controls them. They are given directly by buyer of the product, and no one else. The transaction of buyer and seller are not effected by what censorship rules are in place in that region, or within that government. The ones who have opportunities will still have to work in exactly the same way and prove their work. Or some else takes the same reward from their work. The ones who have opportunities cant just hire enough others to produce the work faster. The ones that are hired will immediately demand rewards in the very same hard asset. And that is never easy to get.

Whenever the reward is a harder asset, it demands a lot of hard work. We need to liberate the phrase from the chains of bitcoin mining. The phrase is for everyone. Society functions by giving and taking products and services. Society everywhere has to work. Bitcoin hodlers, even those who hold hundreds or thousands of bitcoins, do not stop working. They continue with their masonry work, collect garbage from homes, teach in colleges, and engage in various other professions. Then they still use a part of their earning to buy even more bitcoins. Any type of ordinary work done is proof enough to get bitcoins.