4 ms·
> it is a brute-force search That usually causes people to assume its a finite haystack with a single needle, e.g. something that has progress, and bitcoin min
by nullc 4y ago
> it is a brute-force search
That usually causes people to assume its a finite haystack with a single needle, e.g. something that has progress, and bitcoin mining doesn't.
A lottery is a better analogy but carries its own misunderstandings. All analogies are imperfect. :)
- tinus_hn 4y agoIt’s a huge but finite haystack with a lot of needles, the number of needles depends on the difficulty.
- nullc 4y agoInternal state of sha256 is 512 bits, though the inputs the user can control are limited to about 300 bits. In any case, it's larger than the believed number of atoms in the observable universe. The important point is that there is no progress, each attempt has an independent probability of success. Imagining it as an infinite haystack with a difficulty controlled density of needles still yields the right understanding.