Can you Jerry-Rig your Rig?

[the joint]

Hi,

I don't know much about coding and therefore do not exactly know how programs like the Bitcoin client and GUIminer operate.  So, here is my question...

Is there any way to essentially tell your computer to only hash out low values so that it solves the block quickly?  So, instead of random guessing, you're narrowing the parameters under which it can guess even further, thereby resulting in a more likely chance to solve the block? 

By the way, in the odd event that this is possible, that nobody has thought of it yet, and that someone decides to implement it for their gain, I want part of the consistent 50-BTC payout 

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[TiagoTiago]

The output of the hashing is unpredictable, you can't know what will change in the output if you change somthing in the input.

[the joint]

The output of the hashing is unpredictable, you can't know what will change in the output if you change somthing in the input.

What's the relationship between the input and the output?  Isn't there some kind of determination of a certain output given by a certain input?  Will a given input always produce the same output?  My apologies, I don't quite get it. 

In another thread that I read, I envisioned it as a 'guess-the-number' game.  So, it'd be like if I told you to "guess a number between 1 and a million" where the only acceptable values are 0, 1, 2, and 3, and then after a difficulty increase, the only acceptable numbers are 0, 1, and 2, and so on.  There's no way to tell your computer to hash out all 0's for example?

[grue]

In another thread that I read, I envisioned it as a 'guess-the-number' game.  So, it'd be like if I told you to "guess a number between 1 and a million" where the only acceptable values are 0, 1, 2, and 3, and then after a difficulty increase, the only acceptable numbers are 0, 1, and 2, and so on.  There's no way to tell your computer to hash out all 0's for example?

no, thats not how hashing works. go to the wiki

[TiagoTiago]

like i said, you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output; the number you're guessing is part of the input, you can't just say you got an output without showing the inputs you used to get there

[grue]

What's the relationship between the input and the output?  Isn't there some kind of determination of a certain output given by a certain input?  Will a given input always produce the same output?  My apologies, I don't quite get it. 

this isn't elementary algebra

[the joint]

What's the relationship between the input and the output?  Isn't there some kind of determination of a certain output given by a certain input?  Will a given input always produce the same output?  My apologies, I don't quite get it. 

this isn't elementary algebra

No shit.

[the joint]

like i said, you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output; the number you're guessing is part of the input, you can't just say you got an output without showing the inputs you used to get there

Yes, I heard you.  I believe 'why?' is a good follow up question. 

[bcpokey]

like i said, you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output; the number you're guessing is part of the input, you can't just say you got an output without showing the inputs you used to get there

Yes, I heard you.  I believe 'why?' is a good follow up question.  

Your questions are rather odd, I believe the suggestions to read up on hashing make sense. Bitcoin relies on SHA256, a strong cryptographic protocol, which wouldn't be very strong if you could simply break it by guessing easy to solve things.

The answer to why is more or less answered there, because it was designed to be difficult.

[the joint]

like i said, you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output; the number you're guessing is part of the input, you can't just say you got an output without showing the inputs you used to get there

Yes, I heard you.  I believe 'why?' is a good follow up question.  

Your questions are rather odd, I believe the suggestions to read up on hashing make sense. Bitcoin relies on SHA256, a strong cryptographic protocol, which wouldn't be very strong if you could simply break it by guessing easy to solve things.

The answer to why is more or less answered there, because it was designed to be difficult.

And I will, but you do realize that a person (me) with virtually no programming experience (except for coding an RPG in Qbasic when I was 12) will have a very hard time understanding that WIKI stuff which makes reference to things I've never heard of?  I'm not sure why you can't figure out a way to tell your computer to get around the problem.  Like, if you know what a given output needs to be, why cant you figure out what the input needs to be?  It is based on an algorithm after all.  Your computer isn't just guessing values 'randomly,' since randomness is another word for causation (caused by randomness).  Why can't you use the algorithm to determine what the relationship is between inputs and outputs such that you can determine why a certain input gives the output that it does?  My guess is that when TiagoTiago says "you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output," he really means "it's INFEASIBLE to try to know what effect a change in the input will have in the output."  It's gotta be possible.

[error]

like i said, you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output; the number you're guessing is part of the input, you can't just say you got an output without showing the inputs you used to get there

Yes, I heard you.  I believe 'why?' is a good follow up question. 

Your questions are rather odd, I believe the suggestions to read up on hashing make sense. Bitcoin relies on SHA256, a strong cryptographic protocol, which wouldn't be very strong if you could simply break it by guessing easy to solve things.

The answer to why is more or less answered there, because it was designed to be difficult.

And I will, but you do realize that a person (me) with virtually no programming experience (except for coding an RPG in Qbasic when I was 12) will have a very hard time understanding that WIKI stuff which makes reference to things I've never heard of?  I'm not sure why you can't figure out a way to tell your computer to get around the problem.  Like, if you know what a given output needs to be, why cant you figure out what the input needs to be?  It is based on an algorithm after all.  Your computer isn't just guessing values 'randomly,' since randomness is another word for causation (caused by randomness).  Why can't you use the algorithm to determine what the relationship is between inputs and outputs such that you can determine why a certain input gives the output that it does?  My guess is that when TiagoTiago says "you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output," he really means "it's INFEASIBLE to try to know what effect a change in the input will have in the output."  It's gotta be possible.

If you can reverse a cryptographic hash, you will literally win the Internet.

[grue]

And I will, but you do realize that a person (me) with virtually no programming experience (except for coding an RPG in Qbasic when I was 12) will have a very hard time understanding that WIKI stuff which makes reference to things I've never heard of?  I'm not sure why you can't figure out a way to tell your computer to get around the problem.  Like, if you know what a given output needs to be, why cant you figure out what the input needs to be?  It is based on an algorithm after all.  Your computer isn't just guessing values 'randomly,' since randomness is another word for causation (caused by randomness).  Why can't you use the algorithm to determine what the relationship is between inputs and outputs such that you can determine why a certain input gives the output that it does?  My guess is that when TiagoTiago says "you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output," he really means "it's INFEASIBLE to try to know what effect a change in the input will have in the output."  It's gotta be possible.

*sigh*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalanche_effect

or do you want me to explain the entire sha-1 process?

[the joint]

like i said, you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output; the number you're guessing is part of the input, you can't just say you got an output without showing the inputs you used to get there

Yes, I heard you.  I believe 'why?' is a good follow up question. 

Your questions are rather odd, I believe the suggestions to read up on hashing make sense. Bitcoin relies on SHA256, a strong cryptographic protocol, which wouldn't be very strong if you could simply break it by guessing easy to solve things.

The answer to why is more or less answered there, because it was designed to be difficult.

And I will, but you do realize that a person (me) with virtually no programming experience (except for coding an RPG in Qbasic when I was 12) will have a very hard time understanding that WIKI stuff which makes reference to things I've never heard of?  I'm not sure why you can't figure out a way to tell your computer to get around the problem.  Like, if you know what a given output needs to be, why cant you figure out what the input needs to be?  It is based on an algorithm after all.  Your computer isn't just guessing values 'randomly,' since randomness is another word for causation (caused by randomness).  Why can't you use the algorithm to determine what the relationship is between inputs and outputs such that you can determine why a certain input gives the output that it does?  My guess is that when TiagoTiago says "you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output," he really means "it's INFEASIBLE to try to know what effect a change in the input will have in the output."  It's gotta be possible.

If you can reverse a cryptographic hash, you will literally win the Internet.

Sounds like a hobby worth my time 

[the joint]

And I will, but you do realize that a person (me) with virtually no programming experience (except for coding an RPG in Qbasic when I was 12) will have a very hard time understanding that WIKI stuff which makes reference to things I've never heard of?  I'm not sure why you can't figure out a way to tell your computer to get around the problem.  Like, if you know what a given output needs to be, why cant you figure out what the input needs to be?  It is based on an algorithm after all.  Your computer isn't just guessing values 'randomly,' since randomness is another word for causation (caused by randomness).  Why can't you use the algorithm to determine what the relationship is between inputs and outputs such that you can determine why a certain input gives the output that it does?  My guess is that when TiagoTiago says "you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output," he really means "it's INFEASIBLE to try to know what effect a change in the input will have in the output."  It's gotta be possible.

*sigh*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalanche_effect

or do you want me to explain the entire sha-1 process?

Sorry to take up too much of your time Oh Guru of Ultimate Wisdom.  You know, it's people like you who will turn people away from Bitcoin.  Not everyone is a techno-ultra-nerd extraordinaire. 

[error]

And I will, but you do realize that a person (me) with virtually no programming experience (except for coding an RPG in Qbasic when I was 12) will have a very hard time understanding that WIKI stuff which makes reference to things I've never heard of?  I'm not sure why you can't figure out a way to tell your computer to get around the problem.  Like, if you know what a given output needs to be, why cant you figure out what the input needs to be?  It is based on an algorithm after all.  Your computer isn't just guessing values 'randomly,' since randomness is another word for causation (caused by randomness).  Why can't you use the algorithm to determine what the relationship is between inputs and outputs such that you can determine why a certain input gives the output that it does?  My guess is that when TiagoTiago says "you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output," he really means "it's INFEASIBLE to try to know what effect a change in the input will have in the output."  It's gotta be possible.

*sigh*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalanche_effect

or do you want me to explain the entire sha-1 process?

Sorry to take up too much of your time Oh Guru of Ultimate Wisdom.  You know, it's people like you who will turn people away from Bitcoin.  Not everyone is a techno-ultra-nerd extraordinaire. 

Wait, you aren't a techno-ultra-nerd extraordinaire, and you propose to break one of the world's strongest hash algorithms? I'm utterly confused now.

[bcpokey]

like i said, you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output; the number you're guessing is part of the input, you can't just say you got an output without showing the inputs you used to get there

Yes, I heard you.  I believe 'why?' is a good follow up question.  

Your questions are rather odd, I believe the suggestions to read up on hashing make sense. Bitcoin relies on SHA256, a strong cryptographic protocol, which wouldn't be very strong if you could simply break it by guessing easy to solve things.

The answer to why is more or less answered there, because it was designed to be difficult.

And I will, but you do realize that a person (me) with virtually no programming experience (except for coding an RPG in Qbasic when I was 12) will have a very hard time understanding that WIKI stuff which makes reference to things I've never heard of?  I'm not sure why you can't figure out a way to tell your computer to get around the problem.  Like, if you know what a given output needs to be, why cant you figure out what the input needs to be?  It is based on an algorithm after all.  Your computer isn't just guessing values 'randomly,' since randomness is another word for causation (caused by randomness).  Why can't you use the algorithm to determine what the relationship is between inputs and outputs such that you can determine why a certain input gives the output that it does?  My guess is that when TiagoTiago says "you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output," he really means "it's INFEASIBLE to try to know what effect a change in the input will have in the output."  It's gotta be possible.

I don't mean to be a jerk, but cryptography is one of the most complex mathematical subjects on the planet currently. The reason why the wiki is full of difficult to understand terminology is because it's really difficult to understand, even just the concept. It sounds like you are imagining something simple like a code that maps AB...Z:ZY...A, so if you know you're looking for the word banana, you put in abcdef and get zyxwvu, and you can just keep playing with the input until they match up, that is wrong, and probably the first thing cryptographers worked on making sure didn't happen, because brute force would make that a simple process. As I said, your question "why won't it work" is because a lot of incredibly intelligent people worked really hard to make sure that such things wouldn't work.

[the joint]

And I will, but you do realize that a person (me) with virtually no programming experience (except for coding an RPG in Qbasic when I was 12) will have a very hard time understanding that WIKI stuff which makes reference to things I've never heard of?  I'm not sure why you can't figure out a way to tell your computer to get around the problem.  Like, if you know what a given output needs to be, why cant you figure out what the input needs to be?  It is based on an algorithm after all.  Your computer isn't just guessing values 'randomly,' since randomness is another word for causation (caused by randomness).  Why can't you use the algorithm to determine what the relationship is between inputs and outputs such that you can determine why a certain input gives the output that it does?  My guess is that when TiagoTiago says "you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output," he really means "it's INFEASIBLE to try to know what effect a change in the input will have in the output."  It's gotta be possible.

*sigh*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalanche_effect

or do you want me to explain the entire sha-1 process?

Sorry to take up too much of your time Oh Guru of Ultimate Wisdom.  You know, it's people like you who will turn people away from Bitcoin.  Not everyone is a techno-ultra-nerd extraordinaire. 

Wait, you aren't a techno-ultra-nerd extraordinaire, and you propose to break one of the world's strongest hash algorithms? I'm utterly confused now.

Yes, cause I'm fucking smart.  And I'm currently playing DDR for cardio which is why I'm postponing wikisearch   

[the joint]

like i said, you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output; the number you're guessing is part of the input, you can't just say you got an output without showing the inputs you used to get there

Yes, I heard you.  I believe 'why?' is a good follow up question.  

Your questions are rather odd, I believe the suggestions to read up on hashing make sense. Bitcoin relies on SHA256, a strong cryptographic protocol, which wouldn't be very strong if you could simply break it by guessing easy to solve things.

The answer to why is more or less answered there, because it was designed to be difficult.

And I will, but you do realize that a person (me) with virtually no programming experience (except for coding an RPG in Qbasic when I was 12) will have a very hard time understanding that WIKI stuff which makes reference to things I've never heard of?  I'm not sure why you can't figure out a way to tell your computer to get around the problem.  Like, if you know what a given output needs to be, why cant you figure out what the input needs to be?  It is based on an algorithm after all.  Your computer isn't just guessing values 'randomly,' since randomness is another word for causation (caused by randomness).  Why can't you use the algorithm to determine what the relationship is between inputs and outputs such that you can determine why a certain input gives the output that it does?  My guess is that when TiagoTiago says "you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output," he really means "it's INFEASIBLE to try to know what effect a change in the input will have in the output."  It's gotta be possible.

I don't mean to be a jerk, but cryptography is one of the most complex mathematical subjects on the planet currently. The reason why the wiki is full of difficult to understand terminology is because it's really difficult to understand, even just the concept. It sounds like you are imagining something simple like a code that maps AB...Z:ZY...A, so if you know you're looking for the word banana, you put in abcdef and get zyxwvu, and you can just keep playing with the input until they match up, that is wrong, and probably the first thing cryptographers worked on making sure didn't happen, because brute force would make that a simple process. As I said, your question "why won't it work" is because a lot of incredibly intelligent people worked really hard to make sure that such things wouldn't work.

Not quite what I was imagining -- I suspected it wouldn't be that easy.  But I was utilizing the forum for quick, to the point, yet general-enough information that it would help narrow my searching.  I've been involved with Bitcoin for like 2 weeks.

[nebiki]

What's the relationship between the input and the output?  Isn't there some kind of determination of a certain output given by a certain input?  Will a given input always produce the same output?  My apologies, I don't quite get it. 

this isn't elementary algebra

hmmm... i'm not quite sure about that. our maths prof always goes like "as you've known since grade 9 ..." when talking about some shit you never heard before. for people like him it probably is elementary algebra.

[casascius]

And I will, but you do realize that a person (me) with virtually no programming experience (except for coding an RPG in Qbasic when I was 12) will have a very hard time understanding that WIKI stuff which makes reference to things I've never heard of?  I'm not sure why you can't figure out a way to tell your computer to get around the problem.  Like, if you know what a given output needs to be, why cant you figure out what the input needs to be?  It is based on an algorithm after all.  Your computer isn't just guessing values 'randomly,' since randomness is another word for causation (caused by randomness).  Why can't you use the algorithm to determine what the relationship is between inputs and outputs such that you can determine why a certain input gives the output that it does?  My guess is that when TiagoTiago says "you can't know what effect a change in the input will have in the output," he really means "it's INFEASIBLE to try to know what effect a change in the input will have in the output."  It's gotta be possible.

With a hash function there is no discernible pattern between the input and the output.  Hash functions were made complicated on purpose.  The only way to find out what the output for any given input is, is to run the function on it and see what comes out.  By design, even a minor change to the input always results in a drastic change to the output.

The algorithm cannot be done in reverse.  Google it, find the implementation, and you'll see why.  Too many steps "throw away" bits of intermediate information along the way - information you would need to do the algorithm in reverse.  This is done repeatedly during each hash, and is intentional.

There isn't a way to get the input from an output - except by guessing inputs by trial and error and calculating the output and seeing if it matches the desired result.