Subject: Re: [bitcoin-dev] BIP Proposal: Utilization of bits denomination

From: Natanael <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2017 23:01:09 +0100

Reposting /u/BashCo's post on reddit here, for visibility:

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> Before anyone says 'bits' are too confusing because it's a computer
science term, here's a list of homonyms [https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/List_of_true_homonyms] that you use every day. Homonyms are fine
because our brains are able to interpret language based on context, so it's
a non-argument.

This ignores the fact that there exists multiple meanings of bits *within
the same context*, and that beginners likely can't tell them apart.

Feel free to try it yourself - talk about Bitcoin "bits" of a particular
value with somebody who  doesn't understand Bitcoin. Then explain that the
cryptography uses 256 bit keys. I would be surprised if you could find
somebody who would not be confused by that.

Let's say a website says a song is 24 bits. Was that 24 bit audio
resolution or 24 bit price? Somebody writes about 256 bit keys, are that
their size or value?

You guys here can probably tell the difference. Can everybody...? Bits will
cause confusion, because plenty of people will not be able to tell these
apart. They will not know WHEN to apply one definition or the other.

https://www.reddit.com/r/bitcoin/comments/24m3nb/_/ch8gua7