Topic: What is the minimum IQ needed to understand Bitcoin on a basic level? (Read 4485 times)

Douglas Adams would be proud

42! is an incredibly large number, not anywhere near 42.

42! = 1405006117752879898543142606244511569936384000000000

Not really similar.

Ah, ah, 42! the answer to life, universe and everything
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aboZctrHfK8

This

and/or remotemass's answer (no 42!)

IQ is normally irrelevant here. You are just required to ask right questions.

If you need an index seriously, I think 95 (with understanding how natural number can be calculated), then should be okay.

IQ is irrelevant here, computer to its root is just some switches that even a child can understand, but when it reaches a high level of complexity, only those who are continuously working in this area can follow the development. I think most of the people don't understand how IP protocol and internet works, but that does not stop them from using it

If you don't understand how bitcoin works, you can still use it, but there is a big concern that you might lose your wallet, that is serious. So as long as people can make sure that their bitcoins are safe, the rest of the details are not important

In a traditional model, people rely on banks to protect their money, so they don't really bother how fiat money works either, as long as they can safely deposit and withdraw their money with banks

For beginner, I think blockchain.info wallet with two-factor authentication is enough good, since the wallet is backed up by the server and only user have the encryption password to the wallet

With an IQ of 110 you can do it.
You need to spend a year or two learning C++ with a good textbook. I would recommend:

Learn Professional Programming Skill in C++ Programming Language by Adalat Khan
and
Object-Oriented Programming in C++ by Nicolai M. Josuttis

If you master these two books you will be fine regarding C++ but you may need a bit more knowledge regarding networking programming, and concurrent programming with threads, for understanding p2p technology, namely discovering network nodes using IRC, sockets, etc.

To score very high in a Mensa IQ exam you need an entremely good vocabullary, which you don't need to master C++ coding and you need to be good with pattern recognition and brain teasers that although may tell a lot about how sharp and fit your brain is, how quick, focused and able to memorize you are, and for that matter how intelligent you are, will not actually be decisive in your ability to understand bitcoin and its code.

What you need is the chance of getting to know the best resources and to dedicate enough time to them.

First you need to understand bitcoin, generally.
1) Watch "United Colors of Bitcoin" on youtube a few times,
jotting down notes, until you get it. Five times may be enough.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6sOFXHlhuE
2) Consolidate your knowledge with a more detailed and technical
explanation with the video: How Bitcoin Works Under the Hood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx9zgZCMqXE
Watch it also as many times as necessary, after you are confident
you did understand quite a lot of the previous video.
3) Then you need to understand the code.
Buy these two books on amazon: Learn Professional Programming Skill in C++ Programming Language by
Adalat Khan and Object-Oriented Programming in C++ by Nicolai M. Josuttis
Focus on the first book. Dedicating two hours of reading it a day, for a few months.
If you dedicate two hours a day, by March or April your C++ will be fine to grasp the
code.
In the meantime print the 12,222 lines of code of the original
client code http://www.scribd.com/doc/189139502/Bitcoin-12-222-lines-of-code
(files: base58.h, bignum.h, db.cpp, db.h, headers.h, irc.cpp, irc.h, key.h, main.cpp, main.h, market.cpp, market.h, net.cpp, net.h,
script.cpp, script.h, serialize.h, ui.cpp, ui.h, uint256.h, util.cpp and util.h) and get familliar with it, having a mental picture of it and of the line numbers - as clearly as possible.

The different pieces of the puzzle will start to couple and in a year or two you will understand it all. And you don't need a high IQ. With a 110 IQ you are fine.

while i'm not very smart, in my mind i have been ruminating over the idea of money (for a few years now), how its basic functions work and the like.. more recently, i've been learning a lot more about it.

i think it has more to do with your desire to learn about how money drives the world, than it does about what your IQ is.. at least for the average person.

I don't mean to brag here but I just wanted to post my stats so other people can compare intelligence vs understanding bitcoin

I got into bitcoin in november 2012. I did my research and did not understand it fully until april 2013 when i bought in at $60 each (i still hold all of them). even from april 2013 to today i am constantly learning a lot of material.

as for stats:

iq i usually test 125-130 but no idea how true it is since it is all online.
i type 111 wpm with 0 errors
i can build computers
bs in accounting (but remember university doesn't mean shit, you can learn shit on ur own)
i do calculus 3/accounting/finance homework and online exams for $200 a pop on the side
i work in the it making around 50k a year gross.
can play piano (like bedrock, titanic etc)

do have weaknesses. i'm introverted and not a very good or charismatic speaker. i am not good at explaining things even tho i myself understand it. that is a different area of str in my opinion.

with all that said, it took me 5 months to understand bitcoin and am still constantly learning new things. i would imagine a person with a background in computer science or programming would understand bitcoin quicker than me.

again this isn't to brag but for you to compare what strengths you have and the amount of time it took you to grasp bitcoin.

edit: also wanted to add i passed border patrol, immigrations, and cdcr prison guard exam with over 80 without studying. i know a lot of ppl who have failed those exams while putting a lot of hours into studying that.

This.

One needs to know among other things:

 -What is money, (I was talking to a guy about this and he went into an infinite loop explaining back to me how he is legally entitled to a 1 dollar bill upon producing a 1 dollar bill at the bank because it has "I promise to pay the bearer 1 dollar" written on it.)
 -What is the current monetary system, fractional reserve banking, central banking, Hows, whys and whats of QEs, etc etc
 -Cryptography, at least the idea that some things are hard to make but easy to verify.
 -Decentralisation, the blockchain, why bitcoins cannot be forged or printed.

Apparently not very much considering most of the posts I see on this board...

0!

Just read up and you'll be fine!

yeah, intelligence is relative.. this is what i've come to realize. there are many different levels off intelligence. you could be street smart but not book smart, or book smart but not street smart. some people associate good memory with intelligence, but memory is not everything.

i think understanding bitcoin is not for the common person though. it's too confusing and takes too much time. most people could probably understand how bitcoin works, but it's too time consuming so they dont bother with it.

Intelligence Quotient is BS man; It was a university entrance exam at the turn of the 19th century... how much can you gather from that? It's not absolute.

To understand Bitcoin require a wealth of knowledge, I consider myself a pretty educated guy but it took me a whole year of delving deep into Bitcoin to begin to understand it. If it is anything at all it is hard work and a good web of knowledge... if they don't have the right fundamentals to understand Bitcoin they have to buildup the knowledge, cryptography, computers, networking, psychology, sociology, cognitive systems, etc, without these fundamentals doesn't matter how smart you think they are, they are going to stumble... but if they are hard workers, perciever through it all, or love the idea they'll master it.

and IMHO most scammers are dumb, so dumb they don't even know the value of what they have... I would have sold what I had for a cool couple million and let someone else carry on; they just don't see the posibilities, they'd rather rob you then listen.

I doubt the majority of people even understand decimals enough to differentiate between .1 and .01.

That bitcoin is irreversible probably won't sit well with most regular people either.

IMO probably only a small segment of the population will end up utilizing cryptos but among those few it is still revolutionary with endless possibilities.

I say 120.  90% worldwide below that.

It depend on several factors (which client, which device, which OS..). However in general it's just simple as choosing a safe password for the wallet and periodically saving a backup somewhere else (for example multiple USB storages) that will be kept in separate places.

However this is far to "understanding Bitcoin on a basic level".

The question should be: What is the minimum days of learning before an average computer user can protect his bitcoins from theft and loss  

It's not a matter of IQ. It just requires a quite large background knowledge, if you don't have those information you just need some time to understand all the subsystems involved. Knowing them, it becomes really simple and easy to understand how Bitcoin works.