but I don't exactly see it that way because each mining node is competing against all the others.
There is no competition. Every hash found has an equal chance of matching or exceeding current difficulty, which is around 39.5 Billion.
If there's no competition, then why am I not solving ALL of the blocks?
Because you don't have 286541.40 Ths of hashing power.
Call it what you want, but that is competition. That's the exact reason there are pools and hardware races for new technology. If your not solving a block, someone else is.
If you want to think of mining as a competition then fine have it your way. But your descriptions that I've seen so far are not correct. Also you are not being harmed or losing anything by the initial 1024 difficulty before it adjusts down.
I wish you luck in your competition.
Take Care,
Sam
The only competition in mining is an orphan race.
Otherwise it doesn't matter when anyone finds a block coz you simply switch your work item to a new one and continue searching.
This switch also happens every 30 seconds and every time anyone on the planet finds a block.
Every block found is "randomly unaffected" by every other block found, other than a work switch.
So for example, if someone finds a block here, the next person who finds a block here could find it 1 second later, or 100 days later - they are "randomly independent" of each other.
There is no competition, there is no spoon
