Ask HN: What's the best way to learn about the blockchain?

#1

Post by moksha256 » Sat, Sep 24, 2016, 3:29 PM UTC

Every book I've come across is rated poorly for being superficial.

The one I've tried to read most recently (Mougayar's The Business Blockchain) also felt kind of superficial.

I'm interested in both technical foundation and practical/business applications.

Any books, videos, courses, or other resources you recommend?

Re: Ask HN: What's the best way to learn about the blockchain?

#2

Post by shp0ngle » Sat, Sep 24, 2016, 3:34 PM UTC

Everything in Bitcoinlandia is fairly superficial, since everyone is trying to sell Bitcoin and make himself rich. So it's like reading multi-level-marketing books.

That being said. What's actually kind of good (with actual technical specifications) is Bitcoin wiki, even when it's slightly outdated; then official bitcoin website; and sometimes bitcoin stack exchange website (but that can become outdated too).

I don't think Blockchain can be disconnected from Bitcoin, and if you do, it's very general and not that specific.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best way to learn about the blockchain?

#3

Post by kanzure » Sat, Sep 24, 2016, 4:11 PM UTC

Start here: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/tree/master/src

and https://bitcoin.org/en/developer-documentation

papers- http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2/bitcoin/

Re: Ask HN: What's the best way to learn about the blockchain?

#4

Post by benev » Sat, Sep 24, 2016, 4:12 PM UTC

I wrote a piece for Linux Voice on how bitcoin works a couple of years ago. It's obviously focused on this particular blockchain, not the principal in general and it's a couple of years old now. I tried to give a good overview for techincal people : https://www.linuxvoice.com/bitcoin/

Re: Ask HN: What's the best way to learn about the blockchain?

#5

Post by m52go » Sat, Sep 24, 2016, 4:12 PM UTC

shp0ngle wrote: post #2

Everything in Bitcoinlandia is fairly superficial, since everyone is trying to sell Bitcoin and make himself rich. So it's like reading multi-level-marketing books. That being said. What's actually kind of good (with actual technical specifications) is Bitcoin wiki, even when it's slightly outdated; then official bitcoin website; and sometimes bitcoin stack exchange website (but that can become outdated too). I don't…

Makes sense.

For the record I've found Coindesk helpful for general updates, and I signed up for the blockchain course on Coursera.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best way to learn about the blockchain?

#6

Post by adamqureshi » Sat, Sep 24, 2016, 4:12 PM UTC

I was working on this service. Teaching blockchain bootcamp courses online. I found a few instructors. Just need go figure out the MVP. Are you in NYC? Check the landing page http://studioblockchain.com/

Re: Ask HN: What's the best way to learn about the blockchain?

#7

Post by lhnz » Sat, Sep 24, 2016, 4:14 PM UTC

Building the minimum viable block chain: https://www.igvita.com/2014/05/05/minimum-viable-block-chain...

That's where I would start.

Re: Ask HN: What's the best way to learn about the blockchain?

#8

Post by gregoryrueda » Sat, Sep 24, 2016, 4:24 PM UTC

21 has some fun tutorials. https://21.co/learn/

The intro to bitcoin concepts is great place to learn about blockchain.

https://21.co/learn/introduction-to-bitcoin-concepts/#introd...

Re: Ask HN: What's the best way to learn about the blockchain?

#9

Post by zmanian » Sat, Sep 24, 2016, 4:34 PM UTC

I highly recommend the Princeton book and associated video lectures as a place to get started. It does a great job of framing things in the context of the wider fields of cryptography and distribute systems research.

http://bitcoinbook.cs.princeton.edu/

Re: Ask HN: What's the best way to learn about the blockchain?

#10

Post by hendzen » Sat, Sep 24, 2016, 4:44 PM UTC

Honestly your best bet is to read everything Gregory Maxwell has ever written.