How to Explain Bitcoin to a 7-Year-Old

https://medium.com/bitcoins-digital-currency/a9a8c094feaf

by tonydiv • 13 years ago

31 44 13 years ago

medium.com

arthulia• 13 years ago

This is pretty good, not sure about the lottery thing though, since not everyone is a bitcoin miner.

tonydiv14• 13 years ago

Thanks. I agree, it's not perfect.

eurleif4• 13 years ago

How about: Anyone can place a security camera in the room, but maintaining one costs money. The lottery goes to the security camera operators.

munchor• 13 years ago

http://youtu.be/Um63OQz3bjo

I agree that explaining people (be them 7 or 20 years old) what bitcoins are and what the fuss is all about is quite complicated.

Usually I just send people that video, but this explanation is pretty interesting (maybe not as effective as the video, though).

mrb2• 13 years ago

The room full of piggy bank analogy is IMHO a lot more effective and accurate explanation that this video which barely brushes how Bitcoin works. (I too have been explaining Bitcoin to people since 2010 while being deeply familiar with its internals.)

tonydiv14• 13 years ago

The video is good, but still complicated. The second I say, "your computer generates Bitcoins," people give me a funny look.

serginho6• 13 years ago

I hate these clumsy startup-ish videos(I wanted to type `z' at the end of the word but I remember the last night (US day?) post...).

shurcooL• 13 years ago

How do I create/get my own piggy bank with a key?

tonydiv14• 13 years ago

Good question. Anyone can sign up for a piggy bank outside the room. The robot also takes care of that :)

vonskippy• 13 years ago

Obviously the guy doesn't have access to any 7 year olds.

Besides being way (way way way way way) too long, it's way too complex.

Lottery, transaction, millions, security camera, online, indestructible, odds, all words that would need their own explanation in 7 year old terms.

This is just more bitcoin fluff trying to ride the buzz.

eurleif4• 13 years ago

Well, I'm not sure about 7 year olds, but it's the first explanation of Bitcoin I've seen that I think my father may be able to understand. I'm going to link it to him.

akcreek• 13 years ago

I was going to send it to my wife - I think she could understand this better than how I've been explaining it. I don't know anything about kids.

webwielder2• 13 years ago

Bitcoin is a lot like quantum mechanics. Nobody really understands it.

anklos• 13 years ago

As a (7 year * 4) old man, I dont really understand your explanation:(

tonydiv14• 13 years ago

How can I improve it?

serginho6• 13 years ago

> There’s a room that anyone can access. The room has security cameras that anyone can view, and every second of recorded footage is available online forever.

's/anyone can access/noboby can access/'

's/anyone can view/noboby can view/'

>Naturally, these piggy banks have coin slots, and everyone can see which coins are in which piggy bank.

's/everyone can see/nobody can see/' (Hide it == Show it)

> These piggy banks can never leave the room.

's/leave the room/leave to the light/'

>Then, I walk into the room with a ski mask on.

>> with a ski mask on.

Yeah, You mean it!

>Anyone in the world can see me on the security cameras, but not my face.

>> but not my face.

That's what we are paid for.

>“Who made the robot..?”

The same who made these schemes and manipulations to rule the crowd.

mrb2• 13 years ago

What do you think about my explanation?: Bitcoin: The Simplest Non-technical Explanation: http://blog.zorinaq.com/?e=66

(Although, like the room full of piggy bank analogy, mine is only a partial explanation.)

serginho6• 13 years ago

So do I.

webwielder2• 13 years ago

This fails to address the biggest question any self-respecting seven-year-old will ask:

"Why?"

tonydiv14• 13 years ago

Young kids always ask that, don't they!

I'd probably talk about trust, but there's no correct answer here. My guess is that Bitcoin was created because its creator doesn't trust the government.

dmix• 13 years ago

> My guess is that Bitcoin was created because its creator doesn't trust the government.

Also privacy in private markets, so not trusting VISA/Mastercard etc to sell my transaction data [1].

Plus the decentralized value [2], so not trusting the bankers/finance industry who have a large influence on the value of state currencies in addition to the government.

[1] http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2013/05/the_publicpriv...

[2] http://paulbohm.com/articles/bitcoins-value-is-decentralizat...

supercoder2• 13 years ago

"There’s a robot in the room that runs lotteries. Every so often, this robot randomly chooses a piggy bank in the room, and puts 50 coins in it. "

Is this true ? So saying if I'm a user of bitcoin, will I just wake up one day to find 50 coins added to my balance ?

tonydiv14• 13 years ago

Assuming you're a miner, yes. In order to a be a miner, you just need to install the program.

supercoder2• 13 years ago

Yep maybe the analogy needs to be updated to reflect that :)

serginho6• 13 years ago

It's just a currency for Silk Road. That's how it is explained. As clear as when I always remember when I wanna understand how is it addicted to the real economy.

tonydiv14• 13 years ago

That's not true. Just because Silk Road is one of its main uses, there are many others. I think Bitcoins will do really well in gaming, small payments, and international trade.

serginho6• 13 years ago

I hope.

joeblau• 13 years ago

That explanation doesn't really explain how the coins are mined, but it I guess for a 7 year old, that explanation should be good enough.

mwcampbell• 13 years ago

What about the kill switch? http://www.loper-os.org/?p=1009

tonydiv14• 13 years ago

I love this line:

Some people are incensed by “hoarders” – not I. I don’t give a damn. At least Bitcoin hoarders never had to kill anyone to obtain their wealth, unlike those who control land and other natural resources.

How to Explain Bitcoin to a 7-Year-Old

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