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Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2015 13:35:20 -0400
Message-ID: <CABsx9T0YEm7mFYosRVbcG_XgtSi8BbUraGoixy4e2=nyCBeFaA@mail.gmail.com>
From: Gavin Andresen <gavinandresen@gmail.com>
To: Allen Piscitello <allen.piscitello@gmail.com>
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Cc: Bitcoin Dev <bitcoin-dev@lists.linuxfoundation.org>
Subject: Re: [bitcoin-dev] Is it possible for there to be two chains after a
 hard fork?
Precedence: list

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On Tue, Sep 29, 2015 at 1:24 PM, Allen Piscitello <
allen.piscitello@gmail.com> wrote:

> I fail to see how always following a majority of miners no matter what
> their actions somehow equates to insanity.


Ok, I have a hidden assumption: I assume most miners are also not
completely insane.

I have met a fair number of them, and while they are often a little bit
crazy (all entrepreneurs are a little bit crazy), I am confident that the
vast majority of them are economically rational, and most of them are also
meta-rational: they want Bitcoin to succeed. We've seen them demonstrate
that meta-rationality when we've had accidental consensus forks.

If you start with the premise that more than half of Bitcoin miners would
do something crazy that would either destroy Bitcoin or would be completely
unacceptable to you, personally... then maybe you should look for some
other system that you might trust more, because Bitcoin's basic security
assumption is that a supermajority of miners are 'honest.'

-- 
--
Gavin Andresen

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<div dir=3D"ltr"><div class=3D"gmail_extra"><div class=3D"gmail_quote">On T=
ue, Sep 29, 2015 at 1:24 PM, Allen Piscitello <span dir=3D"ltr">&lt;<a href=
=3D"mailto:allen.piscitello@gmail.com" target=3D"_blank">allen.piscitello@g=
mail.com</a>&gt;</span> wrote:<br><blockquote class=3D"gmail_quote" style=
=3D"margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">I fail t=
o see how always following a majority of miners no matter what their action=
s somehow equates to insanity.</blockquote></div><br>Ok, I have a hidden as=
sumption: I assume most miners are also not completely insane.</div><div cl=
ass=3D"gmail_extra"><br></div><div class=3D"gmail_extra">I have met a fair =
number of them, and while they are often a little bit crazy (all entreprene=
urs are a little bit crazy), I am confident that the vast majority of them =
are economically rational, and most of them are also meta-rational: they wa=
nt Bitcoin to succeed. We&#39;ve seen them demonstrate that meta-rationalit=
y when we&#39;ve had accidental consensus forks.</div><div class=3D"gmail_e=
xtra"><br></div><div class=3D"gmail_extra">If you start with the premise th=
at more than half of Bitcoin miners would do something crazy that would eit=
her destroy Bitcoin or would be completely unacceptable to you, personally.=
.. then maybe you should look for some other system that you might trust mo=
re, because Bitcoin&#39;s basic security assumption is that a supermajority=
 of miners are &#39;honest.&#39;</div><div class=3D"gmail_extra"><div><br><=
/div>-- <br><div class=3D"gmail_signature">--<br>Gavin Andresen<br></div><d=
iv class=3D"gmail_signature"><br></div>
</div></div>

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