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Is Bitcoin’s Merkle tree a binary search tree?

Is Bitcoin’s Merkle tree a binary search tree? Dr. Wright says Bitcoin’s Merkle tree is a binary search tree (BST). BTC devs disagree and question his qualifications. The questioning by BTC and Dr. Wright’s answers show a typical example of Dr. Wright talking about it at a level and depth that others haven’t thought of. Ironically, some even question Dr. Wright’s understanding of technology at the undergraduate level, not in spite of this but because… Read More »Is Bitcoin’s Merkle tree a binary search tree?

“The Three-Body Problem” and Scidolatry

I tried to watch the 30-episode Chinese TV series The Three-Body, based on Liu Cixin’s now-famous novel The Three-Body Problem. I couldn’t last more than an hour and had to skim to the end quickly. I generally have a soft spot for sci-fi and can often passively receive low-quality junk for quite a while before my brain can come up with a firm “stop” signal. But this is worse than junk.  It’s poison. Its philosophy… Read More »“The Three-Body Problem” and Scidolatry

Dr. Wright’s settlement offer to COPA and all opposition parties

On January 24, 2024, Dr. Wright sent to his opponents in the COPA litigation (Claim No. IL-2021-000019), the passing-off claims (Claim No. IL-2022-000035  & Claim No. IL-2022-000036) and database-rights claims, (Claim No. IL-2022-000069) a non-negotiable offer to settle each of these cases. See the offer in its entirety here. Here is a quick summary and analysis of the offer. Key points Foundation:   All lawsuits and claims are to be dropped; the Opposition implicitly recognizes that Dr. Wright is… Read More »Dr. Wright’s settlement offer to COPA and all opposition parties

To prove a negative in COPA v. Wright

In the upcoming trial of COPA v. Wright, COPA sets out to prove that Dr. Wright is not Satoshi, while Dr. Wright provides evidence that he is. How do you prove a negative? There is a misunderstanding about “negative proof”, especially among the supporters of Dr. Wright. The saying is that it is impossible to have “negative proof”. First, there is an issue of terminology. In philosophy, science, and logic, “negative proof” typically refers to… Read More »To prove a negative in COPA v. Wright

Satoshi’s secret in the Genesis block

Much fruitless thinking (especially mine own) is going on about the mysterious 26.9 BTC transferred to the address in the Genesis block of Bitcoin. This is largely due to the lack of clear and definite information. Dr. Wright has said something about the Genesis block in the past. But in his typical fashion, he speaks in his domain and at his own level, with little sympathy for how others are positioned. For example, in one… Read More »Satoshi’s secret in the Genesis block

The price is just a symbol

In this post, the author accuses SEC of committing a crime for causing a drop in stock price. People who do this assume that stock prices must be protected as if they were a value in themselves. That is wrong. It is a good example of what’s wrong with today’s financial industry as a whole. It confuses symbols with reality and price with value. A temporary drop in stock prices is not a destruction of… Read More »The price is just a symbol

IPv6 Bitcoin-Certified Addresses

Mathieu Ducroux of nChain published a paper entitled IPv6 Bitcoin-Certified Addresses. Abstract: A pivotal feature of IPv6 is its plug-and-play capability that enables hosts to integrate seamlessly into networks. In the absence of a trusted authority or security infrastructure, the challenge for hosts is generating their own address and verifying ownership of others. Cryptographically Generated Addresses (CGA) solves this problem by binding IPv6 addresses to hosts’ public keys to prove address ownership. CGA generation involves… Read More »IPv6 Bitcoin-Certified Addresses

The Additional Documents in COPA v. Wright

On December 20, 2023, Judge Mellor, who presides the trial of COPA v. Wright, handed down a pretrial judgment to adjourn the trial from the originally scheduled January 15, 2024, to February 5, 2024. A three-week adjournment of the trial does not seem to be such a significant change, especially considering that the case was filed in April 2021 and has been pending for well over 2.5 years. However, what is significant is the cause… Read More »The Additional Documents in COPA v. Wright

Is Bitcoin decentralized?

“Do you prioritize low transaction fees for everyday use, or are you more concerned about security and decentralization?” The above is a question I hear from people who are at least honest enough to acknowledge that BSV is more practical for everyday use due to its low transaction fees, but nevertheless insist that BTC is superior due to its better security and decentralization. These things are all important. But they are not mutually exclusive. People… Read More »Is Bitcoin decentralized?

Man and machine, intuitive logic and arithmetic logic

The barber paradox If the barber shaves everyone who does not shave himself, who shaves the barber? The question is the so-called Barber paradox. It is paradoxical because it always leads to a self-contradictory answer. The barber paradox may strike as a trivial witty remark to many, but it is related to something far more serious. It is an example of Gödel’s incompleteness theorem, which says that formal logic (arithmetically expressible logic) cannot be both… Read More »Man and machine, intuitive logic and arithmetic logic