Merge branch 'master' into develop

01_introduction.asciidoc

@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Today, in 2021, the Lightning Network is still in its infancy. The Lightning Net
 The concept of the Lightning Network was proposed in 2015, and the first implementation was launched in 2018. As of 2021, we're only beginning to see the opportunities the Lightning Network provides to Bitcoin including improved privacy, speed, and scale.
 With core knowledge of the Lightning Network, you can help shape the future of the network while also building opportunities for yourself.
 
-We assume you already have some basic knowledge about Bitcoin, but if not, don't worry – we will explain the most important Bitcoin concepts, those you must know to understand the Lightning Network, in <<bitcoin_fundamentals_review>>. If you want to learn more about Bitcoin, you can read _Mastering Bitcoin_, available for free online.
+We assume you already have some basic knowledge about Bitcoin, but if not, don't worry – we will explain the most important Bitcoin concepts, those you must know to understand the Lightning Network, in XREF HERE. If you want to learn more about Bitcoin, you can read _Mastering Bitcoin_, available for free online.
 
 While the bulk of this book is written for programmers, the first few chapters are written to be approachable by anyone regardless of technical experience. In this chapter, we'll start with some terminology, then move to look at trust and its application in these systems, and finally we'll discuss the history and future of the Lightning Network. Let's get started.
 
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ Throughout this book, you will see "Bitcoin" with the first letter capitalized,
 Now that you're familiar with these basic terms, let's move to a concept you are already comfortable with: trust.
 
 
-=== Trust in decentralized networks
+=== Trust in Decentralized Networks
 
 You will often hear people calling Bitcoin and the Lightning Network "trustless". At first glance this is confusing. After all, isn't trust a good thing? Banks even use it in their names! Isn't a "trustless" system, a system devoid of trust, a bad thing?
 
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ Trustless does not mean devoid of trust. It means that trust is not a necessary
 Before we get into how the Lightning Network works, it's important to understand one basic concept that underlies Bitcoin, the Lightning Network and many other such systems: something we call a _fairness protocol_. A fairness protocol is a way to _achieve fair outcomes between participants, who do not need to trust each other, without the need for a central authority_ and it is the backbone of decentralized systems like Bitcoin.
 
 
-=== Fairness without central authority
+=== Fairness Without Central Authority
 
 When people have competing interests, how can they establish enough trust to engage in some cooperative or transactional behavior? The answer to this question lies at the core of several scientific and humanistic disciplines, such as economics, sociology, behavioral psychology, and mathematics. Some of those disciplines give us "soft" answers that depend on concepts such as reputation, fairness, morality, and even religion. Other disciplines give us concrete answers that depend only on the assumption that the participants in these interactions will act rationally, with their self-interest as the main objective.
 
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ In broad terms, there are a handful of ways to ensure fair outcomes in interacti
 
 * Game theoretical fairness protocols - this last category emerges from the combination of the internet and cryptography and is the subject of this section. Let's see how it works and what its advantages and disadvantages are.
 
-==== Trusted protocols without intermediaries
+==== Trusted Protocols Without Intermediaries
 
 Cryptographic systems like Bitcoin and the Lightning Network are systems that allow you to transact with people (and computers) that you don't trust. This is often referred to as "trustless" operation, even though it is not actually trustless. You have to trust in the software that you run, and you have to trust that the protocol implemented by that software will result in fair outcomes.
 
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ While game theory and its use in cryptographic systems may appear confounding an
 
 In this book, we call this pattern a _Fairness Protocol_ defined as a process that uses a system of incentives and/or disincentives to ensure fair outcomes for participants who don't trust each other. Enforcement of a fairness protocol is only necessary to ensure that the participants can't escape the incentives or disincentives.
 
-==== A fairness protocol in action
+==== A Fairness Protocol in Action
 
 Let's look at an example of a fairness protocol, which you may already be familiar with.
 
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ A much better solution exists: the siblings are taught to play a game called "sp
 While the infamous chip battles of the 1980's neatly illustrate the point, any similarity between the scenario above and any of the authors' actual childhood experiences with their cousins is entirely coincidental... Or is it?
 ====
 
-==== Security primitives as building blocks
+==== Security Primitives as Building Blocks
 
 In order for a fairness protocol like this to work, there need to be certain guarantees, or _security primitives_, that can be combined to ensure enforcement. The first security primitive is _strict time ordering/sequencing_: the "splitting" action must happen before the "choosing" action. It's not immediately obvious, but unless you can guarantee that action A happens before action B, then the protocol falls apart. The second security primitive is _commitment with non-repudiation_. Each sibling must commit to their choice of role: either splitter or chooser. Also, once the splitting has been completed, the splitter is committed to the split they created - they cannot repudiate that choice and go try again.
 
@@ -121,7 +121,7 @@ In our real-life example, we saw one form of fairness protocol called "split and
 
 Now that you understand this basic pattern, you will start seeing it everywhere in Bitcoin, the Lightning Network and many other systems. Let's look at some specific examples next.
 
-==== Example of the fairness protocol
+==== Example of the Fairness Protocol
 
 The most prominent example of a "fairness protocol" is Bitcoin's consensus algorithm, _Proof of Work_ (PoW). In Bitcoin, miners compete to verify transactions and aggregate them in blocks. To ensure that the miners do not cheat, without entrusting them with authority, Bitcoin uses a system of incentives and disincentives. Miners have to use electricity and dedicate hardware doing "work" that is embedded as a "proof" inside every block. This is achieved because of a property of hash functions where the output value is randomly distributed across the entire range of possible outputs. If miners succeed in producing a valid block fast enough, they are rewarded by earning the block reward for that block. Forcing miners to use a lot of electricity before the network considers their block means that they have an incentive to correctly validate the transactions in the block. If they cheat or make any kind of mistake, their block is rejected and the electricity they used to "prove" it is wasted. No one needs to force miners to produce valid blocks; the reward and punishment incentivize them to do so. All the protocol needs to do is ensure that only valid blocks with proof of work are accepted.
 
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ Aside from reducing the burden on nodes, payments on the Lightning Network are c
 
 While the Lightning Network was initially conceived for Bitcoin, it can be implemented on any blockchain that meets some basic technical requirements. Other blockchains, such as Litecoin, already support the Lightning Network. Additionally, several other blockchains are developing similar "second layer" or "layer 2" solutions to help them scale.
 
-=== The Lightning Network's defining features
+=== The Lightning Network's Defining Features
 
 The Lightning Network is a network that operates as a "second layer" protocol on top of Bitcoin and other blockchains. The Lightning Network enables fast, secure, private, trustless, and permissionless payments. Here are some of the features of the Lightning Network: