After reading a Coinbase article, as many bitcoiners are drawn to do once in a while, I became inspired to write a kid friendly story to describe bitcoin. One where the essential function and structure of bitcoin is described in a basic form without mention of any modern technology. Something to fill in time at all of these two-year-old's birthday parties we seem to be invited to these days. A mystical legend.
In a land long ago the people of the land lived in many different villages around a big, tall mountain. The people would mainly stay in their own villages because it was easier that way. Some years some of the villagers would have a bad crop and go hungry whilst at the same time others would have more food than they could eat. People got jealous and there were many problems.
One day when searching for an answer to the troubles of the land, one of the villagers, Satoshi Nakamoto, climbed to the top of the mountain. He could see all the villages all around. At the very top of the mountain he found what he thought was a very special gem. It was very geometric and mathematical, not like any Gem that had ever been seen in the land. Satoshi sat on top of the mountain and thought about how this could help the people.
Satoshi saw his own reflection in the gem. This worried him. The people might get jealous of him or his village and this precious discovery if he kept it to himself and this would defeat the purpose. He wanted the solution to work for all the villages. He climbed slowly down the mountain with the biggest gem he could carry. He took the gem to another village where nobody knew his face and left it, wrapped in a note, on a path leading to the mountain. Then he went back up the mountain to get some more gems and mark the trail.
The villagers in the unknown village found the package and they got excited. A few of them took the path up the mountain to get some more. When they came back with Gems, more people saw it was real and did the same. It was a very steep and narrow path. Towards the top of the mountain it was not like a path at all, more like a ladder of stone, only one person could go up and down at a time.
Over time many villagers had the gems and they were trading with all the other villages. People from all the villages were climbing the mountain to get gems and the track got worn down. Holds of stone were polished by hand and feet, some broke off and it got more nd more difficult to climb. People could not carry as many gems down the mountain as they could at first. Only the best and most dedicated climbers could get more gems. they became very valuable. A piece of gem which you could once trade for a pizza from a friend could now buy a house.
Over time people started to race up the mountain. People got angry about it and many people still did not know about the gems, about how they held their history and about how they could be easily split. They knew little of the detailed history of the gems for all to see. They only recognised their value to trade. When they first discovered them they looked into the gems and the first thing they noticed was that some of the earlier villagers had big stashes of gems, collected in the days when climbing the mountain for new gems was not so risky or difficult. They envied the luck of the early villagers.
The majority of villagers called for a grand meeting, an appeal to change the mountain to make it more open for all. They wanted to have the same opportunity that the original villagers had. The first gem climbers did not agree, "before the mountain" they said, "your village was very rich whilst our village was hungry". Still the original villagers understood the struggle and wanted to help. They knew of the example of Satoshi's anonymous gift they had once found lying on the path.
The original villagers had become wealthy in their discovery, but the discovery was long ago now. They spent and gave away their spare gems to those who did the most good. They hid gems in exciting places. They felt good in the acts. In giving up their stash, they showed faith in themselves, that new opportunities would come and that they would be able to spot them. They were happy that the legacy of their generosity and their freedom from greed would be forever reflected in the history of the gems. For all to see, just like the first acts of Satoshi.
In a land long ago the people of the land lived in many different villages around a big, tall mountain. The people would mainly stay in their own villages because it was easier that way. Some years some of the villagers would have a bad crop and go hungry whilst at the same time others would have more food than they could eat. People got jealous and there were many problems.
One day when searching for an answer to the troubles of the land, one of the villagers, Satoshi Nakamoto, climbed to the top of the mountain. He could see all the villages all around. At the very top of the mountain he found what he thought was a very special gem. It was very geometric and mathematical, not like any Gem that had ever been seen in the land. Satoshi sat on top of the mountain and thought about how this could help the people.
The gem could be broken into smaller pieces easily and then moulded back together. if you looked into the gem closely, you could magically see its history and where it came from. The shiny reflections in the stone's translucent surfaces told the story of the stone's sharded history going back to when he first broke it from the tip of the mountain. After many days and nights of meditation and communication with gods and wizards, Satoshi decided the best use for the gem would simply be to trade with it. People all over the land would want it and it was hard to get, but the mountain was right in the middle of all the villages, it would be fair for all.
The villagers in the unknown village found the package and they got excited. A few of them took the path up the mountain to get some more. When they came back with Gems, more people saw it was real and did the same. It was a very steep and narrow path. Towards the top of the mountain it was not like a path at all, more like a ladder of stone, only one person could go up and down at a time.
Over time many villagers had the gems and they were trading with all the other villages. People from all the villages were climbing the mountain to get gems and the track got worn down. Holds of stone were polished by hand and feet, some broke off and it got more nd more difficult to climb. People could not carry as many gems down the mountain as they could at first. Only the best and most dedicated climbers could get more gems. they became very valuable. A piece of gem which you could once trade for a pizza from a friend could now buy a house.
Over time people started to race up the mountain. People got angry about it and many people still did not know about the gems, about how they held their history and about how they could be easily split. They knew little of the detailed history of the gems for all to see. They only recognised their value to trade. When they first discovered them they looked into the gems and the first thing they noticed was that some of the earlier villagers had big stashes of gems, collected in the days when climbing the mountain for new gems was not so risky or difficult. They envied the luck of the early villagers.
The majority of villagers called for a grand meeting, an appeal to change the mountain to make it more open for all. They wanted to have the same opportunity that the original villagers had. The first gem climbers did not agree, "before the mountain" they said, "your village was very rich whilst our village was hungry". Still the original villagers understood the struggle and wanted to help. They knew of the example of Satoshi's anonymous gift they had once found lying on the path.
The original villagers had become wealthy in their discovery, but the discovery was long ago now. They spent and gave away their spare gems to those who did the most good. They hid gems in exciting places. They felt good in the acts. In giving up their stash, they showed faith in themselves, that new opportunities would come and that they would be able to spot them. They were happy that the legacy of their generosity and their freedom from greed would be forever reflected in the history of the gems. For all to see, just like the first acts of Satoshi.
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