Forgot to CC the group... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Mike Frank <[email protected]> Date: Sat, Jun 18, 2011 at 1:49 PM Subject: Re: [EM] A secure distributed election scheme based on Bitcoin's Proof-of-Work protocol To: Jameson Quinn <[email protected]>
On Sat, Jun 18, 2011 at 1:14 PM, Jameson Quinn <[email protected]>wrote: > And suppose bitcoin take over the intergalactic economy? Even if that's > just a 1-in-a-billion longshot, each bitcoin is actually worth more than the > entire solar system. > LOL, maybe so. Or maybe the aliens have already invented it. :) > Sorry. Let's not discuss this here. The point here is whether bitcoin are > cryptographically secure. I agree with you that they are, to >99% > probability, against the combined efforts of all the bad guys, as long as > they remain valuable. (The point is that as technology advances, that does > not tend to reduce the good guys' advantage.) I also agree with Warren that > it is impossible to eliminate risks - which I'd class as being on the order > of 0.1% - such as a secret, dramatically improved algorithm or a temporary > 51% takeover, and that it would therefore be unwise to make the consequences > of such risks be catastrophic. > Well, I agree; I'm not going to put my entire life savings into it. My point is just that, as an electronic currency, it's better than anything we have now, in terms of being immune from getting devalued through manipulation by powerful parties (such as banks and governments). (Is the probability that the US Gov't will eventually start hyperinflating the USD as small as 0.1%? Many think not...) Likewise, an election system based on Bitcoin's protocols might similarly be better than anything we have now, in terms of being immune from election fraud, and not requiring trust of central authorities (election officials) to count the votes properly. Assuming, that is, that what we want is a "computocracy," rather than a one-person-one-vote democracy... -Mike -- Full name: Michael Patrick Frank Email addr.: [email protected] (pers. email) Snail mail: 820 Hillcrest Ave., Quincy, FL, 32351-1618 Phone/voicemail: (413) 842-6670 (main number, uses Google Voice) Webpage URL: http://www.facebook.com/M.P.Frank (pers. profile) -- Full name: Michael Patrick Frank Email addr.: [email protected] (pers. email) Snail mail: 820 Hillcrest Ave., Quincy, FL, 32351-1618 Phone/voicemail: (413) 842-6670 (main number, uses Google Voice) Webpage URL: http://www.facebook.com/M.P.Frank (pers. profile)
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