Hand-waving is easy, dialog is hard.
It is, simply put, a platform of trust powered by the most massive compute engine humanity has ever built.
The vitriol on HN shocks me though. I would've thought this community would love something like bitcoin. But instead of good quality discussions most bitcoin threads here turn into haters vs 'fanboys'. You are a 'fanboy'. It's pretty hard to get taken seriously once that happens.... :(