Cryptocurrency: A clueless right-brained girl's perspective

When I decided it might be fun to write this post, the first thing I did was google the definition. Not because I didn't know what it was (basically), but there definitely was a time in the not so distant past when that was the case, and I would be surprised if there are no new people on this platform in the same boat:

cryp·to·cur·ren·cy
ˈkriptōˌkərənsē/
noun
a digital currency in which encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of funds, operating independently of a central bank.
"decentralized cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin now provide an outlet for personal wealth that is beyond restriction and confiscation"

Origin

early 21st century: from crypto- and currency.

But truthfully I was delightfully surprised by the fact that I actually understood everything that was said there. My chest puffed out with pride as I thought "Yup, digital currency, mhmm, encryption...independent of central banks, got that, decentralized-totally got that.

!

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Upon investigating further, I realized I actually knew way more than I initially thought, how it isn't issued by any central authority and theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation (though the theoretically gave me a bit of pause that I made note of) but still, I felt pretty damn good about myself!

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Buttt.. then I came to the part about cryptography and how it controls the creation of additional units and found my eyes beginning to glaze..

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...but only for a moment! I'd gotten this far, I knew this much, surely I could do a little reading and get even further!

I quickly learned that cryptography is essentially taking plain text and scrambling it into ciphertext (encrypting, yes, I totally know this!) Then apparently back again which is called decryption-made complete sense so far.

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The purpose of cryptography concerns Confidentiality, Integrity and Non-repudiation, or in layman's terms: The information can't be understood by anyone it's not intended for, can't be altered in storage or transit between sender and receiver without being detected, and the sender of the information can't deny their intentions in creating the transmission at a later time.

What I read next was of utmost importance in my mind, the words Finite Supply. To my understanding; after several pages of what amazingly didn't give me a splitting headache since tech-savvy I am NOT; each one of these cryptocurrencies are designed to have a limited amount, and while mining them periodically produces new units, even that becomes fewer and fewer until miners only receive fees for their work.

This type of built in scarcity supports value, and a lot like precious stones and metals there might be protection against inflation. (Again I had to pause at the words "might be" for further thought)

Most importantly, to me, cryptocurrency offers a means of exchange outside the control of central banks, and the fact that they need to be mined means there is a self-policing mechanism built in.

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Okay, I realize this is a very small fraction of what there is to know about this subject. In fact I now have several pages bookmarked for further study. But all in all I am quite impressed with myself, though mostly it is steemit that impresses me, I would know nothing if it were not for this platform. And if there are others like me out there, who struggle with these concepts, I like to think this could serve as in introduction for them.

After I delve a bit deeper into cryptocurrency I will begin working on the concept of the blockchain. Yeah, I know, steemit is part of the blockchain. I also know that anything written on the blockchain is there for good. But recently a short discussion with @neoxian caused me to realize that the 'adding of new blocks' was not only something I hadn't ever thought about, I had no idea what that meant. (He was kind enough to offer assistance should I need any...so if you're reading this neo, be prepared for some upcoming questions)

Okay, so I will be looking into this, as well as nodes, crowdfunding, and ermmm, Merkle Root? Merkel Tree? Merkling?

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But I am feeling pretty confident now, that by the time I'm finished reading and asking pertinent questions, I will no longer be the 'clueless crypto girl' I once was. Instead I'll be someone that people come to with questions...hell yeah, that's the optimism I need!
Let's do this!

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I imagine this post made it very obvious I am a fan of the show Supernatural, though it would be more accurate to say that I am a fan of my daughter who is a Super Fan of the show Supernatural. I actually met these guys in person at one day of a convention I took her to last year, and this year I'll be doing the entire three day weekend...and yes there will be a post ;)

For all of the newbies to this subject, if this helped you gain even a small grasp on the matter I'm glad, but please don't hesitate to ask questions, I'll do my best (or seek out someone who can help).

For all of the experts on the the subject, please feel free to add whatever you'd like to the comments. Every new thing I learn is one step away from clueless and toward amateur at least :) Besides it might be helpful to others like me who happen to open this post.

Generously created for me by @son-of-satire