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Came here to say this. I really think it may have been one person. It was a brilliant idea, and as you all know, it only takes one person to have an idea, but w

by chjj 14y ago

Came here to say this. I really think it may have been one person. It was a brilliant idea, and as you all know, it only takes one person to have an idea, but would it really take that much work to implement? Would it really require an elite highly-funded team of programming geniuses? When the Linux kernel was first posted, a lot of people, including RMS, couldn't believe that one man got a kernel up and running so quickly. Normally, up until that point, only large well-funded companies were thought to be capable of producing robust kernels. Linux happened despite this preconception. Imagine if Linux had been released anonymously. I wonder what rumors would have started.

neilk 14y ago
Hang on a minute. Writing toy kernels for an OS is an exercise that grad students do. The other Unix OS for PCs at the time, Minix, was the work of a single individual, Andrew Tanenbaum. There are plenty of other examples. I don't really know what I'm talking about when I talk about crypto or Bitcoin. I was just musing out loud. In fact, don't even read this comment that I'm writing. :) BTW, I think the best comment in this thread so far is by myprasanna, who seems to be saying that the premise of the entire question is wrong. Those of us who came late to Bitcoin marvel at how this brand new idea and an implementation came out of nowhere. But it seems to have had a history on crypto mailing lists, and implementation ideas were even discussed in public. Maybe the idea has a longer gestation than it appears. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5548682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5548682
- chjj 14y ago
  I specifically said "robust" kernels for this reason. While I wouldn't call Minix a toy kernel, it definitely was not as robust as Linux after a while into Linux's infancy. I'm guessing it was considered something a single person could probably manage due to its size. I think this actually furthers my point as well. Minix was created by a world-renowned computer scientist. Linux was created by a college student. Did it really require an elite genius computer scientist to make Linux? No, it just required a kid who was interested in programming (as it happens, he was also very smart). Couldn't the same be true of bitcoin?

by chjj 14y ago

neilk 14y ago

Hang on a minute. Writing toy kernels for an OS is an exercise that grad students do. The other Unix OS for PCs at the time, Minix, was the work of a single individual, Andrew Tanenbaum. There are plenty of other examples. I don't really know what I'm talking about when I talk about crypto or Bitcoin. I was just musing out loud. In fact, don't even read this comment that I'm writing. :) BTW, I think the best comment in this thread so far is by myprasanna, who seems to be saying that the premise of the entire question is wrong. Those of us who came late to Bitcoin marvel at how this brand new idea and an implementation came out of nowhere. But it seems to have had a history on crypto mailing lists, and implementation ideas were even discussed in public. Maybe the idea has a longer gestation than it appears. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5548682 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5548682

chjj 14y ago
I specifically said "robust" kernels for this reason. While I wouldn't call Minix a toy kernel, it definitely was not as robust as Linux after a while into Linux's infancy. I'm guessing it was considered something a single person could probably manage due to its size. I think this actually furthers my point as well. Minix was created by a world-renowned computer scientist. Linux was created by a college student. Did it really require an elite genius computer scientist to make Linux? No, it just required a kid who was interested in programming (as it happens, he was also very smart). Couldn't the same be true of bitcoin?