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From: Mike Caldwell <mcaldwell@swipeclock.com>
To: Aaron Voisine <voisine@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 4 May 2014 10:42:40 -0400
Thread-Topic: [Bitcoin-development] "bits": Unit of account
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Cc: Bitcoin Development <bitcoin-development@lists.sourceforge.net>
Subject: Re: [Bitcoin-development] "bits": Unit of account
Precedence: list

I will drink to that!

Bitte ein Bit! (A Bit please - aka Bitburger Beer)

Mike

Sent from my iPhone

> On May 4, 2014, at 12:17 AM, "Aaron Voisine" <voisine@gmail.com> wrote:
>=20
> Bit by bit, it's become clear that it's a bit much to worry even a
> little bit that overloading the word "bit" would be every bit as bad
> as a two bit horse with the bit between it's teeth that bit the hand
> that feeds it, or a drill bit broken to bits after just a bit of use.
>=20
> Aaron
>=20
> There's no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole
> government working for you -- Will Rodgers
>=20
>=20
>> On Sat, May 3, 2014 at 10:18 PM, Drak <drak@zikula.org> wrote:
>> +1
>>=20
>>> On 4 May 2014 02:06, "Chris Pacia" <ctpacia@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>=20
>>> Absent a concerted effort to move to something else other than 'bits', =
I
>>> would be willing to bet the nomenclature moves in that direction anyway=
.
>>> 'Bits' is just a shorten word for 'millibits' (or microbits, if you
>>> will). It's easier to say and my guess is people would tend to use it
>>> naturally own their own. Kind of like 'bucks' for dollars.
>>>=20
>>> The other synergies are:
>>> -bit is part of the word Bitcoin. The currency unit bit is part of a
>>> whole bitcoin.
>>> -bit symbolically represents the tech nature of the bitcoin.
>>> -bit used to be a unit of money way back when. This largely reclaims it=
.
>>> -when used as money bit when in references to a precession metal coin.
>>> The name 'bitcoin' references that as well as the mimicking of the gold
>>> standard in the protocol rules.
>>>=20
>>> All around I don't think there is a better fit. I doubt people will get
>>> confused by it. The context it's used in will distinguish it from other
>>> uses of the word.
>>>=20
>>>> On 05/03/2014 12:27 PM, Mike Caldwell wrote:
>>>> I agree with the sentiment that most people don't understand either
>>>> computer science or Bitcoin.  The goal of getting people to understand
>>>> enough about Bitcoin to use it is achievable and a goal that is "in sc=
ope"
>>>> of our efforts. Getting them to understand computer science at large a=
t the
>>>> same time, less so.
>>>>=20
>>>> The fact that people routinely confuse RAM and hard drive sizes has mu=
ch
>>>> to do with the fact that the average lay person has little need to
>>>> prioritize this as something to keep in the forefront.  They don't get
>>>> "horribly" confused, they just simply don't get worked up over what lo=
oks to
>>>> them like a rounding error, much to the dismay of anyone who believes =
that
>>>> everyone should be an expert at computer science.  The average joe may
>>>> assess (accurately from his perspective) that the distinction isn't
>>>> important enough to merit significant mental resources and he is justi=
fied
>>>> in not expending them that way even if someone else thinks he should.
>>>>=20
>>>> Poor understanding is precisely what a proper effort to name this woul=
d
>>>> be to avoid.  It is not frill or aesthetics, it is a planned targeting=
 of
>>>> language to achieve the clearest communication to the widest possible =
target
>>>> audience using the language most likely to be understood by them in li=
ght of
>>>> our objectives.  It's marketing.
>>>>=20
>>>> Mike
>>>>=20
>>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>>=20
>>>>> On May 3, 2014, at 9:49 AM, "Christophe Biocca"
>>>>> <christophe.biocca@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>=20
>>>>> Context as a disambiguator works fine when the interlocutors
>>>>> understand the topics they're talking about.
>>>>> Not a day goes by without me seeing "neurotypical people" get horribl=
y
>>>>> confused between RAM and Hard Drive sizes, because they share the sam=
e
>>>>> units (not that that can be helped, as the units are supposed to be
>>>>> the same, base 1000 vs 1024 notwithstanding).
>>>>>=20
>>>>> Bit (as a unit) is already really confusing for anyone who doesn't
>>>>> deal with it on a regular basis. I think people who don't see an issu=
e
>>>>> are making an assumption based on their own lack of confusion. We
>>>>> understand computer science AND Bitcoin. Most people have zero
>>>>> understanding of either.
>>>>>=20
>>>>> Bitcoin already has a ton of issues with terrible names for things:
>>>>>=20
>>>>> - Mining (for transaction validation).
>>>>> - Addresses (which are meant to be one-time use, and don't even reall=
y
>>>>> exist at the network level).
>>>>> - Wallets (which don't hold your bitcoins, can be copied, and all
>>>>> backups can be stolen from equally).
>>>>>=20
>>>>> I end up having to make the distinctions obvious every time I explain
>>>>> Bitcoin to someone new to it. There's an acceptable tradeoff here,
>>>>> because there were arguably no better words to assign to these
>>>>> concepts (although I'd argue mining is a really awful metaphor, and i=
s
>>>>> the one that prompts the most questions from people). Then add to the
>>>>> pile a bunch of third parties naming themselves after parts of the
>>>>> protocol (Coinbase,Blockchain.info). Not blaming them for it, but I'v=
e
>>>>> definitiely seen average people get confused between "the blockchain"
>>>>> and "blockchain.info" (not so much Coinbase, because that name doesn'=
t
>>>>> come up in beginner explanations).
>>>>>=20
>>>>> It seems downright masochistic to add
>>>>> yet-another-word-that-doesn't-mean-what-you-think-it-means to the pil=
e
>>>>> for no reason other than aesthetics. Are we actively trying to confus=
e
>>>>> people?
>>>>=20
>>>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------=
--------
>>>> "Accelerate Dev Cycles with Automated Cross-Browser Testing - For FREE
>>>> Instantly run your Selenium tests across 300+ browser/OS combos.  Get
>>>> unparalleled scalability from the best Selenium testing platform
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>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Bitcoin-development mailing list
>>>> Bitcoin-development@lists.sourceforge.net
>>>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bitcoin-development
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>>=20
>>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------
>>> "Accelerate Dev Cycles with Automated Cross-Browser Testing - For FREE
>>> Instantly run your Selenium tests across 300+ browser/OS combos.  Get
>>> unparalleled scalability from the best Selenium testing platform
>>> available.
>>> Simple to use. Nothing to install. Get started now for free."
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>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Bitcoin-development mailing list
>>> Bitcoin-development@lists.sourceforge.net
>>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bitcoin-development
>>=20
>>=20
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------=
------
>> "Accelerate Dev Cycles with Automated Cross-Browser Testing - For FREE
>> Instantly run your Selenium tests across 300+ browser/OS combos.  Get
>> unparalleled scalability from the best Selenium testing platform availab=
le.
>> Simple to use. Nothing to install. Get started now for free."
>> http://p.sf.net/sfu/SauceLabs
>> _______________________________________________
>> Bitcoin-development mailing list
>> Bitcoin-development@lists.sourceforge.net
>> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bitcoin-development
>=20
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-----
> "Accelerate Dev Cycles with Automated Cross-Browser Testing - For FREE
> Instantly run your Selenium tests across 300+ browser/OS combos.  Get
> unparalleled scalability from the best Selenium testing platform availabl=
e.
> Simple to use. Nothing to install. Get started now for free."
> http://p.sf.net/sfu/SauceLabs
> _______________________________________________
> Bitcoin-development mailing list
> Bitcoin-development@lists.sourceforge.net
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/bitcoin-development