Bitcoin: Longest Chain AND Outpacing the Attackers

I have been rereading through Nakamoto’s white paper again. My focus for now is on the abstract. (I am also rereading to see if Nakamoto ever mentions “blockchain” or how the concept is developed in the paper.) I have rolled my sleeves up several times in working to get my head around Bitcoin and crypto in general. It struck me this morning as I was reading that it isn’t just the outpacing of the attackers, but the other security mechanism is the length of the chain in the cooperative nodes.

I am working on trying to create an accurate visual portrait of Bitcoin by breaking it up into its smaller systems. As I read and think through the currency I get a mental image from the various concepts, and I try to capture them while I can see it in my mind’s eye. Hopefully I will be able to sew all the elements together into a coherent portrait at some point. I like baking on Nakamoto’s abstract because it is the essence in a concentrated form.