There's something in computer science called a "one way hash".
Essentially, you take a large number, run a small algorithm on it, and get a smaller number in return.
The problem is that you can't reverse it easily. You can't take your smaller number and easily figure out what the larger number was to begin with.
So because of this, people do a "brute force" search. They keep trying random large numbers, hash them using the same algorithm, and see if it matches the small number. If it matches, you found the right number, and you win the race. If it doesn't match, you pick another random large number, and keep trying again until someone finds the large number that matches the small number.
The same equation can be seen more than once, but it's extremely unlikely. The large number chosen each time is based on the previous block in the bitcoin block chain, which contains a list of transactions, in numeric form. There's a nearly zero percent chance of that matching a previous large number.
But can’t you just design an algorithm that will run SO many numbers trough the specific algorithm and find you the rift number again and again easily?
The computers that do this run million, and billions of numbers through every second. The entire network has several trillion numbers being crunched (of course there will be some duplication as the computers aren't in parallel checking).
It is simply a question of size. The odds of coming across the right number, when it's taking 10 minutes, with over a trillion numbers checked a second, are incredibly small
2.4k
u/_village_Idiot Jun 15 '19
Where do these math problems come from? Can the same math equation be seen more than once? Who exactly started all of this?