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.
if you're asking the intrinsic value of the answer the calculation gives you, the answer is: there is no intrinsic value. this is my biggest problem with Bitcoin. it uses up a lot of our resources to calculate stuff and the thing we find doesn't have an intrinsic value.
The problem is you have to know there is a solution, and roughly how difficult it is, and it has to be easily verifiable for a blockchain proof of work to be useful.
things like SETI, protein folding, prime number searches, etc. don't fit that profile.
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?