Great introduction to the math/comp sci behind it, and I'm not sure if I missed it but I am wondering how nodes get in contact with each other.
As it is decentralized, it isn't obvious how the network knows about itself.
As it is decentralized, it isn't obvious how the network knows about itself.
For a bit more detail and if you're interested in this sort of thing, have a read of my blog article I wrote about the technical side of Bitcoin: http://www.samlewis.me/2017/06/a-peek-under-bitcoins-hood/
You're right, I didn't describe the details of networking. My main goal was to keep it as short as possible while still explaining the main "pillars" of Bitcoin in detail, and networking did not make the cut. As far as my understanding goes, there isn't anything inherent to Bitcoin in the way its network works (it could apply to most other distributed networks), so I thought including this would stretch things too much and stray too far off topic in a way.