This is an op-ed by Dr. Risti Semnianowski, Professor of Public Administration at California Baptist University.
The vinyl records must be old, but Jack White, Ben Blackwell, and Ben Swank Third Man Records Keep pressing, literally.
Dedicated media channels featuring creators like Teddy dildoa YouTuber who reviews mostly analog wristwatches, likewise, shouldn’t get anywhere near a million subscribers.
White, Baldassare, and many others continue to rage against a digital world with grace and cult followings.
Although Bitcoin is a digital software protocol, it implements one of the more elegant security solutions in the same vein – an offline seed phrase. In fact, many seed phrases are stored on pieces of paper, carved and/or stamped into pieces of metal or typewritten… with antique typewriters.
Even Bitcoin Magazine, despite its massive online presence, sells out its physical publications.
The analog aspect of humanity is not a trend – analog is what defines us.
For many, something deeper happens when they record a disc on a player. The act of moving a physical arm, micro-needling on pressed vinyl, and then hearing the scratches, pops, and subtle noises of the system in action doesn’t listen, it feels.
Likewise, the physical task of manually winding a watch involves touch. The process of twisting the crown provides feedback not only to the fingers but also to the ears. Some might argue that the heart is engaged. In terms of wearing an automatic watch, some owners can “feel” the spinning inside the delicate mechanical system as it spins on their wrist.
Improbable associations and trials and errors
The oldest mechanical (automatic) clock dates back to the early 16th century. spherical watch which, when hand-wound, lasted over 16 hours.
The piece, which was said to have been made by him world of time measurement Peter Heinlein (German watchmaker) by Philipp Melanchthon (Shepherd), accurate to the nearest half hour.
within 100 years, Galileo Galilei He was toying with the concept of “pendulum clocks”; However, while Galileo’s drawings indicated a deep interest in the possibility of constructing a pendulum clock, he He did not build one before his death.
The world of horology is credited with developing the first pendulum clock Christian Higgins In the middle of the XVII century. Huygens’ previous work claims approximate accuracy one minute a day, but the repeats led the watchmaker to be wrong by less than 10 seconds a day. Fast forward another 75 years or so, and makers of compound clocks were fine-tuning to an accuracy of more or less a second per day in the 1700’s.
Interesting experiment for readers if you want to understand Huygens physics: Create your own crude pendulum by attaching a weight to a string. Once the weight is hanging freely, hold the string with one hand and then use the other hand to pull the weight to one side, then let go.
You’ll notice that the weight oscillates from side to side…not very cool, is it? But then, grab the weight and pull it from a higher distance and let go. Repeat from a lower distance.
What you will find is exactly what Huygens is Endoscopy and then proven; that the potential energy stored for the weights plays no role in how fast the pendulum swings—the time it takes for the pendulum to pass through the center is constant; No matter how far the pendulum falls.
the Just The way to adjust the speed of the pendulum is to either increase or decrease the actual length of the string; A longer string length equals a slower metronome rate (pulse); and a shorter length, which results in a faster pulse or tag as the weight swings back and forth.
This is, for all intents and purposes, how mechanical watches are set, except without a thread, a small piece of metal (a spring) is wound. If the clock is running slow or fast, adjustments are made within the system. Not much has changed in the past 150 years or so. It’s beautiful because it’s simple.
I associate mechanical watch accuracy errors with my Bitcoin discovery phase. At first, I thought that a new bitcoin block was generated every 10 minutes; However, as I surrounded myself with more experienced community members, tech staff, and cypherpunks, I learned that block times vary, or “oscillate” between a few seconds skew to a few days in some cases. The protocol automatically adjusts the length of the pendulum chain based on the needs of the network.
The mechanical aspects of time deviation that Satoshi Nakamoto coded into Bitcoin, unlike watchmaking, are features, not bugs.
Tuk-tuk, next hour
High watchmakingAlso known as the most accurate, time-consuming, and accurate task of creating custom, and in many cases, most exceptionally accurate mechanical watches known to man, they often turn a blind eye to quartz, digital, solar, or hybrid movements.
While many may not realize it, a typical Timex or Casio quartz watch is More accurate than many high-end mechanical watches. In addition, some watch experts do not consider many “expensive” brands to constitute “high watchmaking” simply because of their brand name. The evil is in the details.
Still, watch collectors might consider a bespoke offering from a watchmaker they may have never heard of, assuming the watch world has created something as exquisite as, say, a quartet, guillochéd. back The watch that Joshua Shapiro prototyped in Southern California.
The irony is that many watch collectors also have a $40-$100 Casio G-Shock (or equivalent) wristwatch in their collections. There are several reasons behind this, but really, different tasks require different tools.
Regarding Bitcoin, the BTC tool is waiting for assignments, layers, and adoption. Bitcoin is a high watch industry and $40 Casio. The application adapts based on the user and the network; But most importantly, to developers who have dedicated their lives to improving the network.
Jewels
When considering the number of gears, wheels, cogs, springs, etc., in a mechanical watch movement, a lot of friction is created between the minute metal components, as opposed to the friction caused by some within the BTC community.
as, gems In a mechanical watch they may be more commonly referred to as “bearings”. As such, a gem is not “jewelry”, but rather a delicate gemstone carrier to reduce friction.
If you own a mechanical, automatic, or other type of modern self-winding watch, there is most likely a “jewel” number on the back of the watch.
Quartz watches may not have a single jewel in their mechanism, while others may have a handful.
The use of a battery, generators, and capacitors in quartz movements has reduced or eliminated the need for traditional “jewelry”.
Most watches are mechanical 17 gemswhile more complicated watches use more.
Initially, diamonds, sapphires, and sapphires were used as bearings in these complicated watches. Today, even the most famous watch makers use them Sapphire or synthetic sapphire.
In Bitcoin, the watch industry is important.
Whether one catches a bug with collecting watches or just doesn’t have any knowledge of this space has nothing to do with the field of watchmaking; Space advances without them. The mechanics of automatic watches haven’t changed for hundreds of years, and in fact, that’s probably why this field is so beloved.
Bitcoin is on the same track.
While many think bitcoin is too complex to understand, these same pundits use other technologies daily and, ironically, can never articulate how the technology they use every day actually works.
Some members of the same community view bitcoin as an outdated technology; Everything is about perspective.
If you ask most residents how a mechanical watch “tells you the time,” can they tell you? Even many watch collectors haven’t been able to identify all of the parts in a movement, and that’s okay.
Adoption is adoption.
With or without them, the Bitcoin protocol works in a similar way.
My mechanical watch may sit still; However, as soon as I pick it up and put it on my wrist, the second hand starts sweeping through, and the inner workings come to life.
Bitcoin in cold storage is like an automatic watch waiting to be worn.
Within the Bitcoin community, there are points of friction, not within the software per se, but within the community itself.
Gems in the Bitcoin community may exemplify friction reduction for individuals, programmers, contract operators, and the like, who are often underestimated at conferences, online and in the real world.
Recently, some programmers have Try to introduce friction Into the mechanics of the bitcoin protocol.
The friction-reducing (jewelry) aspects of the bitcoin community are not appreciated enough but play an important role in the protocol.
I encourage the cypherpunk community to be wary of continued attacks trying to create friction within the protocol and to prepare with additional gems on hand, ready to deploy.
In previous articles and a book, you alluded to the Bitcoin Quiet Community (QBCs) and its importance; Maybe I should refer to them as “jewels.” In our protocol going forward.
Stay strong and keep doing a good job – you are appreciated.
Author’s Note: Special thanks to Bitcoin Magazine and Peter Shawaga and company; to Third Man Records, especially Jack White and his crew; Hand. Minesinger, Dunbar, Sturz, George, and Ardito for editing and commenting; And finally the team that works with Teddy Baldassarre — I’m looking at you John Storsa, thanks for the support.
This is another guest post by Dr. Riste Simnjanovski. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.