This week the girls take aim at there is no way to know aka science magic...
This week the girls decided to take aim at how things work which were created and operate using "science magic". This is how the girls describe how things work when they believe there is no way to really know how they work...
But first, what were we drinking?
Sarah was drinking Brown Brother Dolcetto & Syrah
Available from Dan Murphy's
Amy was drinking Feet on the ground Merlot
Bianca was drinking Taylor's - One Small Step Cab Merlot
Available from Liquorland
Sarah opens with the topic intro and what we mean by science magic. She then jumps into her topic she was never able to understand being planes and how they fly. However, before she gets to it she goes back through some history of man's early attempts of flight.
Alexandre Goupil's Sesquiplane, New Cross Fit
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| Eilmer, who should have added a tail. |
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Da Vinci's Ornithopter
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| Otto Lilienthal's Glider |
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| Wright Brothers plane |
After that, she explains how she thought planes worked, and also found some of Amy's artwork
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| How Sarah thought planes worked |
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| Amy's Artwork |
Bianca chose cryptocurrency. She chose this because despite owning crypto, she legit has no idea how it works.
Before you continue reading we need to say; The following is in no part financial advice. All we wish to do is better educate ourselves.
Thank you to nerdwallet.com, cryptocurrencyfacts.com, investpedia.com, iconicholding.com, milnsbridge.com.au, and coinmarketcap.com for the following information.
A cryptocurrency is a form of payment that can be exchanged online for goods and services. Many companies have issued their own currencies, often called tokens, and these can be traded specifically for the goods or services that the company provides. Think of them as you would arcade tokens or casino chips. You’ll need to exchange real currency for cryptocurrency to access the goods or services.
Cryptocurrencies work using a technology called a blockchain. Blockchain is a decentralized technology spread across many computers that manage and record transactions. Part of the appeal of this technology is its security.
Cryptocurrency is software. Every function, from how transactions are recorded to how data is stored, is dictated by code.
Especially for cryptocurrencies whose main function is to act as money, cryptocurrency transactions are typically stored in a type of database known as a blockchain (other cryptos use unique technology, but the gist is the same).
What we think of as cryptocurrency, for example, 1 Bitcoin, is just numbers recorded on a cryptocurrency’s blockchain. Another word for that stand-in for value is “token” (often also called a “coin”).
Cryptocurrencies are created by algorithms that rely on cryptography. That is why it is called “crypto” currency. Every transaction relates back to unique cryptographic codes that secure the network.
Cryptocurrency software is decentralized and distributed, meaning it is hosted on many peoples’ computers across the world instead of just on one server by one company.
The algorithms generally are written to award coins to computers that add transactions to the blockchain. The process of adding transactions to the blockchain is known as mining.
The code of the cryptocurrency defines things like maximum supply, mining rewards, etc.
Thus, for most cryptocurrencies, the main way new coins are created is by people all over the world running hardware that adds transactions to the blockchain. Otherwise, cryptocurrency tokens are created by other mechanisms contained in a cryptocurrency’s software.
There are more than 10,000 different cryptocurrencies traded publicly, according to CoinMarketCap.com, a market research website. And cryptocurrencies continue to proliferate, raising money through initial coin offerings, or ICOs. The total value of all cryptocurrencies on May 27, 2021, was more than $1.7 trillion — down from the April high of $2.2 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap. The total value of all bitcoins, the most popular digital currency, was pegged at about $735 billion — down from April's high of $1.2 trillion.
FACT: Because the supply and inflation of a given cryptocurrency are defined by code, it is known upfront whether a coin is inflationary or deflationary. The only way to change that is to change the software. To change the software, the majority of computers running the software have to agree on an upgrade. In most cases, something like a change to the rate of supply would result in a “fork” (a new version of the software). Given all of this, it is unlikely the supply or rate of issuance of a coin like Bitcoin would ever be changed. Thus, we can be confident the only coins that will ever be issued are the ones defined by the code.
Best cryptocurrencies by market capitalization
These are the 10 largest trading cryptocurrencies by market capitalization as tracked by CoinMarketCap, a cryptocurrency data, and analytics provider.
Like I said in the beginning, I own some crypto and am a proud Dogecoin holder. I have seen this coin and bitcoin for that matter rise and fall under the word of Elon Musk. I personally think it's disgusting that one man can have so much influence. He is no part a creator of these coins. He just tweets his thoughts out there and people hang on to every word.
In true narcissism, he tweeted he is the Dogefather. He also professed that he is going to put a literal dogecoin on the literal moon. The sad thing is I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that he does so the coin's value goes up.
Now, let's debunk some myths...
Digital Currencies Are Bad for the Environment.
There is a reason for concern about the impact of digital currencies on the environment. As cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether have taken off, so too has the number of mining operations around the world. Each of the individual mining rigs requires massive amounts of computational power, and this, in turn, requires large amounts of electricity.
What's worth remembering, however, is that the value of mining for a cryptocurrency nearly always outweighs the real-world cost that is required in order to complete that mining operation. What's more, many cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, have set hard caps on the total number of tokens that can be mined. After this point, individuals will no longer be able to mine for new tokens or coins, and the costs of the computational power required for mining that currency will be dramatically reduced. And don't forget that the modern financial and banking system also requires a ton of electricity to operate on a daily basis, from office lights to computer servers to electronic payments networks and asset exchanges.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are mostly used for illegal transactions.
The anonymity of Bitcoin makes it appear to be an attractive alternative for illegal transactions. However, this anonymity is really an illusion. Bitcoin is one of the most transparent currency systems to have ever existed, every Bitcoin transaction is recorded on a public ledger called the ‘Blockchain’. The Blockchain is essentially a data record that is decentralized meaning the data cannot be amended or tampered with. A report by the UK Treasury in late 2017 found a lack of evidence supporting illegal transactions used with Bitcoin. In fact, over a four-year study, only 0.61% of money entering conversion services were from verifiably illicit sources. Whilst other alt-coins such as Monero could be used in illicit transactions, front-runners like Bitcoin and Ethereum are virtually transparent making it harder to use them in unlawful transactions. Therefore the assumption that criminals predominantly use Crypto is a myth.
Bitcoin is a ‘bubble’ waiting to burst.
A financial bubble is an asset that’s price deviates from its intrinsic value. Bitcoin has been commonly compared to the ‘tulip mania’ boom in 17th century Europe.
In a nutshell, the ‘tulip bubble’ burst because tulips were a terrible store of value due to their lifespan and fungibility. Bitcoins, however, are immutable and they can be sent anywhere in the world within minutes without the need of an intermediary. Furthermore, there are a finite number of Bitcoins that will ever exist, making them high in demand. It is hardly fair to compare the ‘tulip mania’ bubble to the Bitcoin bubble as it is only in the early stages and it could very well last another 20 years.
Bitcoin is too expensive and I do not have enough to buy one
I know this sounds silly to those who are familiar with crypto, but I am asked this many times by no-coiners who simply just don’t know better because nobody has explained it to them.
One of the primary benefits of crypto is near all the assets are fractionalized or divisible into many parts. 1 Bitcoin, for instance, is divisible up to 8 decimal places, meaning the smallest amount of Bitcoin one can own is 0.00000001 Bitcoin. We call this microscopic unit a “Satoshi” or “Sat” after Bitcoin’s founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. If/when Bitcoin hits a $100,000 price per Bitcoin, each Satoshi will be worth $0.001, or 1/10th of a penny. This unit is easily purchasable and usable on the Bitcoin network.
Amy is, as we know, hopeless with technology. Despite the internet being a common thing for the past twenty-five-plus years, Amy still doesn't really get how it works.
After a few failed attempts at googling how it works (how does the internet work then how does the internet work simple) she found an explanation that was suited to her level - how does the internet work dummies.
The internet has been around in some shape or form since the late 80s. Lots of people use the word "Internet" to mean going online. Actually, the "Internet" is nothing more than the basic computer network. Think of it like the telephone network or the network of highways that criss-cross the world.
In simple terms, it's how computers talk to each other. Amy was amazed to find out that all content available on the internet lives on someone's computer or server. Not in a metaphorical place as she once thought.
Despite all her research Amy still doesn't have a full grasp of how the internet works but knows more now than she did previously.
HELP KEEP US HYDRATED
AKA Karma Points
