Nice writeup @karov. Scaling is indeed layering. As a big supporter of both Steem and Tau, I'd add that the adoption and usability of Steem (https://blocktivity.info/ & devlog) is showing there may be many DPOS-like layers supporting various currencies coming up to grow like mushrooms and perhaps on the security side of things, match hard-to-scale POW protocols, at least energetically. With Steem devs working on Smart Media Tokens (the generation of more Steem-like currencies for different communities), I took this "layering" into the extreme by exploring a short essay a while ago here.
Tauchain isn't out yet, but I expect it to be paving the way for scaling discussion and consensus-formation while making software / hardware development deeply accessible to the world's population as time goes on, including improving user/application discovery. Can't wait to see how both of my favourite projects play out together in the future!
PS: I got a very similar tattoo with the head of snake meeting tail, but its shape twisted into ∞ :)
Hey, Kevin. Valuable comments, thank-you! The blocktivity and devlog links are very useful. Network activity / traffic are, yes, maybe the best weight-scaling of the Metcalfe's law 'coefficient'. Measure of true organic value. It sounds exactly inline with the Warren Buffett's investment main criterion - scan and detect the undervalued and buy... :)
As Ohad said Dan's DPOS is a soft-decentralization form. I again will refer to: http://www.truthcoin.info/blog/pow-cheapest/ of Aug 2015 by Paul Sztorc, which reveals that non-PoW , hybrid to fiat/trust systems are not 'energetically' more efficient if we include in the account all the energy budget incl. the societal one which is exploited by the blockchain.
Layer mashrooming is very precise poetics, Rhyming with another form of layer scaling.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_inflation of A Vilenkin :) ... ''Both Linde and Guth, however, continued to support the inflationary theory and the multiverse. Guth declared:
<It's hard to build models of inflation that don't lead to a multiverse.>'' with Vilenkin-Garriga's https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/0102010 ...
On Tauchain empowering the world's population by 'deep accessibility' -- true, I expect Tau as an unintended byproduct to be also the ultimate teaching machine - you'll see those suspicions of mine expressed in the next article to roll out in few days.
I also can't wait to see Tau in another aspect: It will be the tool to assess thoroughly the Cryptoverse and to put it upright. Providing us with powerfull tools to grok and distinguish and to boost value in various consensi constructs. We'll be able to see instantly the worth in every proposal and automatically to funnel the dev and impl means into it.
Your 'everybody - coin' article is a WOW! for me. I have an 'embryo' of an article - will gestate in few weeks with working title ''Selfcoin'' - very much inline, and I definitely will refer to yours and part of it will be exegesis of your one. :)
Tatoos: I have a hands opening an eye one - which inspires me to find and use such an image for my Tau Edu upcoming post. :) Ouroboros is truly infinite because it grows as it devours itself. The First law of thermodynamics :P :P