On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 11:47 PM ZmnSCPxj: > > When considering any new proof-of-foo, it is best to consider all effects > until you reach the base physics of the arrow of time, at which point you > will realize it is ultimately just another proof-of-work anyway. >
Let's not simplify away economic considerations, such as externalities. The whole debate about the current PoW is about negative externalities related to energy production. Depending on the details, CAPEX (R&D, real-estate, construction, production) may have less externalities, and if that's the case, we should be interested in adopting a PoW that is intensive in these types of CAPEX. On Mon, May 17, 2021 at 2:20 PM Keagan McClelland wrote: First it just pushes the energy consumption upstream to the chip > manufacturing process, rather than eliminating it. And it may trade some > marginal amount of the energy consumption for the set of resources it takes > to educate and create chip manufacturers. The only way to avoid that cost > being funneled back into more energy consumption [...] > I challenge you to substantiate these assertions. Real-estate and human cognitive work are not energy intensive and are a major factor in the expected costs of some alternative PoWs. The expected mining effort is such that the cost will reach the expected reward, no more, so there is every reason to believe that energy consumption will be small compared to the current PoW. Therefore, the total associated negative externalities for the alternative PoWs may well be much lower than the externalities of energy production. This needs detailed analysis, not a knee-jerk reaction.
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