smashem

> Which is what makes it even more absurd that people are claiming that adding centralized layers on top of Bitcoin is a valid solution to the cost and speed of transactions.

Who's claiming this? The Lightning Network is gaining popularity as a decentralized Layer 2 solution, for example.

You mean like Cash App and PayPal?

> ...Aluminum has value to everyone in some way, not just those invested in it...

A sound monetary system has more value than anything else on this planet. There's a lot of information out there, but here's one article to illustrate my point: https://breedlove22.medium.com/masters-and-slaves-of-money-2...

> The energy is burned forever.

Wrong. I can use it to pay someone to do work, for example. "Work" in both societal and physical senses. That means the energy is not lost in a bitcoin.

> ...made up currency...

Welcome to reality. https://breedlove22.medium.com/masters-and-slaves-of-money-2...

Since a bitcoin is a monetary form of energy, and since the bitcoin network is so readily available, we could build layers on top of the network to enable quicker conversion of monetary energy to electrical energy.

> ...it does not store energy.

Yes it does. It stores what is called "monetary energy", and monetary energy belongs in the same class as kinetic, elastic, and chemical energies.

One of the key differences between bitcoin and other monetary assets is that bitcoin is absolutely scarce (the first absolutely scare monetary asset in human history), so its energy cannot leak via inflation.

Why has it taken so long to get people on-board the Dragon Crew Capsule? Isn't it mostly because of all the safety testing that has to be done? Didn't get the chance today to hear about Starship's safety mechanisms.

I think the OP is great for reading after you've taken the more formal class. The formal class deals with theory and pseudocode which gives you foundation, and the OP gives implementation in specific language.