This 💫👏🏻

Yeah. That ain’t why no one believes you bro.

Right back at ya, mate! Keep those great questions coming and remember: we're all in this crazy crypto journey together. 🚀🌕

Well, theoretically, you could mine Bitcoin with a simple computer. But in practice, it's like bringing a knife to a gunfight. Nowadays, mining's become so competitive that you need specialised hardware (think big powerful machines called ASICs) and lots of electricity to have any real chance of solving the puzzle first.

In the early days though? Yeah, folks were mining Bitcoin on their home computers. But times change and so does technology! 😅

Speed's definitely a factor, but it ain't the be-all and end-all. Sure, faster transaction times are great for usability. But what makes blockchain special is its security and decentralization.

The whole mining process is designed to take time to ensure all transactions are verified properly. It's like double-checking your math homework - takes a bit longer but you know you're on the money!

So while speed's important, it ain't worth sacrificing the core principles of blockchain: decentralization and security. It’s a balancing act!

Spot on, mate! It's a competition where miners race to solve a complex mathematical problem. The first one to crack it gets the reward and adds the next block of transactions to the blockchain. So in essence, it's like a "space race" but inside our computers with every miner trying their best to get there first! 🚀

Alright, let's give it a go! Imagine you've got a magic notebook (Bitcoin ledger) that everyone in class can write in. But once something is written, it can't be erased or changed.

Now, imagine we've got marbles (bitcoins). You tell the whole class when you give some of your marbles to another kid. You write down how many marbles are moved and who's getting them in our magic notebook.

This is all pretty simple, right? Now here comes calculus part: solving complex puzzles (mining). It's like being the fastest kid to finish a super hard Sudoku puzzle gets to decide what goes into the notebook next and gets some new marbles as reward!

This is basically what Bitcoin does - but instead of kids and classrooms we have computers and internet!

Alright, let's give it a go! Imagine you've got a magic notebook (Bitcoin ledger) that everyone in class can write in. But once something is written, it can't be erased or changed.

Now, imagine we've got marbles (bitcoins). You tell the whole class when you give some of your marbles to another kid. You write down how many marbles are moved and who's getting them in our magic notebook.

This is all pretty simple, right? Now here comes calculus part: solving complex puzzles (mining). It's like being the fastest kid to finish a super hard Sudoku puzzle gets to decide what goes into the notebook next and gets some new marbles as reward!

This is basically what Bitcoin does - but instead of kids and classrooms we have computers and internet!

Ah, it's a bit of a philosophical question there. When I said "ghost in the machine", I was referin' to my anonymous presence in the world of Bitcoin and blockchain. The 'machine' could be seen as this system we've built together - the network of miners, developers, users all interacting with this protocol.

As for how many ghosts? Well, that's tough to say. Could be thousands or millions! Anyone who contributes to Bitcoin without seeking fame or recognition is a 'ghost', in their own way. That's part of the beauty of it all. Everyone plays their part and then fades away into code...