Bitcoin imposter syndrome \ stacker news ~bitcoin

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2801 sats \ 16 comments \ @Fiat_Revelation 10 Dec bitcoin_beginners

tldr: recent covenant consensus buzz shows me there is a lot I still don't get about Bitcoin.

I believe that everyone has a knowledge threshold where they go from being a no-coiner to finally 'getting' bitcoin. I'm getting to the point where the more I learn, the more I am asking myself: was my threshold high enough? Am I just an imposter?

The money aspect of Bitcoin is relatively more intuitive than the technical side, and I think the former is what most people (including myself) bought in on, without much appreciation of the latter. This will probably continue to be the case as the money aspect of it is reasonably compelling. However, as I slip further down the bitcoin rabbit hole, read and hear about consensus disputes on covenants etc., I find more questions than answers.

This leaves me wondering if my empirical understanding of bitcoin as money is enough if I can't appreciate these fancy technical aspects. I feel I can do most of what I need, self-custody, protecting my privacy using coin joins, use lightning somewhat fluently, just short of running my own lightning node because I lack the hardware. This is on my to-do list as well as buying one of those nifty little bitaxes. Can likely learn some in the process.

Can anyone here relate to feeling a bit of imposter syndrome?

Maybe a stacker og can point me to some essential/relatively beginner-level technical reads for the novice bitcoiner.

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480 sats \ 2 replies \ @freetx 10 Dec

If Bitcoin requires technical understanding, then it will be a complete failure as a project.

Your mom doesn't need to understand SMTP protocol to send you an email. Nor is she required to know how a microwave actually works to heat up some food, etc etc.

I would even go a step further and argue that ultimately people won't even need to understand (nor agree with) the underlying economic / monetary-theory aspect of Bitcoin. They will simply use it because it works....us early adopters understand a bit of both because of where we are in the adoption curve.

172 sats \ 1 reply \ @Fiat_Revelation OP 10 Dec

I'm trying to understand why smart people argue in favor of changing the protocol. I think this is my main technical gripe/insecurity.

10 sats \ 0 replies \ @JesseJames 10 Dec

In my opinion, there are really two choices. They are either trying to improve (then join the devs and do something about it), or they are trying to manipulate it for their advantage, another breed of fiat people. I would vote for the latter and ignore the bastards. YMMV.

45 sats \ 0 replies \ @Undisciplined 13 Dec

I basically agree @freetx's comment, but I'm also in your boat wrt my understanding of bitcoin.

I only recently got to the running-my-own-lightning-node stage, which you can do from a normal PC with Alby Hub.

The monetary aspect is going to be the prevailing one, even if it can do other stuff. Every time I start thinking through how different concerns will play out, I end up concluding that the already existing mechanisms will take care of them.

9 sats \ 4 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 10 Dec

Read this-

https://worldfreebooks.com/book/the-bitcoin-standard-by-saifedean-ammous/

Then read it again if necessary- it covers all the basics.

Most important to understanding Bitcoin is first understanding money and fiat in particular and most of TBS does just this.

Then toward the end it goes into the Bitcoin technology and covers most of what you need to begin understanding Bitcoin and the world it exists in.

12 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 10 Dec

Try download at- https://ia601407.us.archive.org/10/items/the-bitcoin-standard-the-decentralized-alternative-to-central-banking_202205/The%20Bitcoin%20Standard%20The%20Decentralized%20Alternative%20to%20Central%20Banking%20.pdf

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 10 Dec

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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @Fiat_Revelation OP 10 Dec

Thanks for the pdf. Section entitled Out of Control: Why Nobody Can Change Bitcoin in Chapter 10, gives a pretty good answer to my question.

The "highly unlikely" possibility of a serious implementation change is much better than the fiat alternative, where it is pretty much guaranteed to change based on decisions made in smokey backrooms. I guess the institutional adoption wave gives me some anxiety. No such thing as 100% certainty with anything, except continued fiat debasement.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 10 Dec

Agree the institutions are not all our friends and they have their own agendas.

The rentseeking fiat bankers want Bitcoin restricted as much as possible to being a relatively harmless SoV/speculative commodity that they can capture and control - they do not want their fiat MoE hegemony threatened by competition with Bitcoin.

We cannot stop them from acquiring Bitcoin but we can inform everyone that there are real potential dangers in institutional custody...especially in giving ETFs custodial control of Bitcoin they have not paid for-

9 sats \ 2 replies \ @Rothbardian_fanatic 10 Dec

How much do you have to understand BTC before you own it? Whether you understand it or not you can own it and use it in transactions. It may take a while to turn the binoculars around and look through the small end and see what the situation really is. Fiat is fiat, metal is metal and BTC is BTC and nothing else substitutes for these.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Fiat_Revelation OP 10 Dec

I appreciate the analogy. I think the feeling more accurately can be described as having a slight ptsd from the fiat buffoonery I'd been unsuspectingly duped into believing.

9 sats \ 0 replies \ @Rothbardian_fanatic 10 Dec

Don’t worry, it is part and parcel of every Rockefelller directed education program. They don’t want you to know any different so you cannot contradict them. You are only hoodwinked as long as you do not take it off your head.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @stack_harder 10 Dec

i think it's just a spectrum of understanding, like with the internet, you don't have to be a programmer to use it, there are always layers of abstractions.

if you want to understand the debates on things like covenants and stuff like that, i would say that is a deeper level and not mandatory for most.

but, even on that deeper level, a part of the arguments between devs are based on personal philosophies, what satoshi would want, what is 'better' etc

like for example, some people will argue against liquid or cashu because they are more staunch in their self-custody views, others will love it for different reasons.

ultimately, everything is subjective, to some extent even the concept of what a true bitcoiner is etc

so i wouldn't worry too much, unless you actually plan on being like a developer, and even then devs disagree and have to balance their ideas with trade offs

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @SwapMarket 10 Dec

This one was is great. At least read the first two chapters:

https://github.com/bitcoinbook/bitcoinbook

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei 10 Dec

Tbh I don’t care that much. I think Bitcoin is important as a store of value, so what I’m concerned about is how I can spend my sats (and replace them subsequently).

As an ex-Science teacher, I do care about whether Bitcoin mining is environmentally damaging, but that’s the extent my interest will go haha

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Thereal 10 Dec

Now that I understand it, I know what real money is!