Quote from: KadiumRA on March 28, 2014, 06:43:04 AM

Hello all.

This is my first post related to EMC2, but I have been mining it for about a week now and reading through the main forum discussions, so I'm somewhat up to speed on the concerns being voiced about switching away from the scrypt algorithm. From what I've read so far, it seems that the community is ready to jump to X11. But what I haven't read, is a detailed technical argument by someone who really understands the difference between the various algorithms available. Voting is a great way to build consensus and strengthen the community, but it does not always guarantee the best course of action is taken, particularly when the voters have a lack of detailed knowledge on the subject matter. Let me say right now that I am no expert in the field of crytos or algorithms or computer science at all. I am a control systems engineer by trade and a supporter of cryptos because I believe their integration into societies will help to create better environments than current monetary systems are providing for 99% of the worlds population. That out of the way, I would like to suggest that this decision not be made in haste by the developers, and that the community discussing this switch understand and agree WHY the switch is being made before deciding WHAT to switch to.

From what I've read on the EMC2 forums thus far, it appears that almost everyone agrees that ASICs are bad news for the future of this coin and most scrypt coins in general. I agree with this sentiment from both a miners perspective, and a 'historical' perspective. That is, scrypt was an alternative algorithm to SHA-256 initially implemented to prevent (or at least resist) the ASIC generated potential of centralizing a blockchain network. It goes without saying that blockchain networks must remain distributed to preserve the trust-less encryption protocol that is their genius. The instant that a 51% condition arises, is the instant that a blockchain network becomes incapable of performing its primary function as a trust-less verification system. Thus preventing a 51% condition via integration of ASICs into the network becomes the single most important reason to switch algorithms now that ASICs are on the horizon. Thus to me it seems, whatever algorithm the developers decide to switch to, should be the one that is most resistant to ASICs. If multiple algos have near identical ASIC resistivity, then and only then, should features such as power consumption be considered.

So the question then becomes, which algorithm is the most ASIC resistant? And just as important, who is qualified to answer that question? I don't feel comfortable voting on this topic because I have no idea what the answer is. I could search around the internet and read article after article and become more informed, but then I'm dependent upon the authors presentation of the information, which may or may not be completely accurate. I could read white papers by the developers of different algos, but when I tried reading the Bitcoin white paper, I had to skim it because I lack the vocabulary to understand the details presented. I could invest some serious time and fully educate myself on encryption algorithms, why RAM is necessary and how its circumvented, and how it all relates to blockchains, but there's no need for me to do that when people with that knowledge already exist. So the duty of the Einsteinium development team then becomes to seek out the experts on this subject and get first hand information so that they increase the likelihood of choosing the best course of action. From my understanding, experts on this subject are very forthcoming with their knowledge, as evidenced by the plethora of open source code they release, and can be readily found drinking spiked punch at Bitcoin conventions and crypto Meet-ups.

I know it feels like time is pressing and a decision must be made now, but this coin has a purpose based in love and a strong supporting community, it will survive a few ASIC whales long enough to allow the necessary time to gather quality information and make an informed decision.

Hi KadiumRA
X11 is a an algorithm that was created by 11 different ones, making it super secure. It also lowers the temperature of the GPU's and uses a lot less electricity. It's also around 3 times faster then scrypt. To sum it up it's a lot securer, more efficient and faster (in terms of hashing). X11 and Blake 256 are the best algos now and it looks like a lot of. Coins are heading that way. I can assure you that it's the best choice for this coin.

Kind regards,

Snoop