Homework on Consensus - Questions

Blockchain and Bitcoin 101
#2914

All parties and info in the blockchain must be in agreement so that the end result can only be the truth

The diference is that several diferent validators of the information must agree, instead of only one centralized one, witch increases trust on the realibility of that information

1 Like
#2915

1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?

In blockchain in order for the network to function reliably and efficiently it was designed so that the entire network must agree on a consensus on the status of the ledger. The consensus mechanism is a secure way to ensure that all the transactions occurring on the network are genuine and all participants must agree. The participants of the blockchain are financially incentivized to play by the set rules.

2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?

Consensus in blockchain removes trust and is achieved through financial incentives. In a centralized system, an administrator has the authority to maintain and update the database. The task of making any changes is performed by a central authority who is the sole person or persons in charge of maintaining genuine records. This authority is highly unverifiable and would have to be trusted in their role.

1 Like
#2916
  1. Nothing is added to the blockchain without the verification of many parties, who all have a financial incentive through mining to reach that consensus.
  2. This is different from central databases because the underlying supply chain or network that surrounds blockchain transactions is transparent and verifiable by everyone.
1 Like
#2917
  1. The miners/nodes can all be seen as individual actors, all with financial incentive to keep a blockchain ledger accurate. The miners must all or majority “agree” on what the accurate blockchain should be. The updated ledger represents the most accurate and agreed upon “truth”.
  2. Truth in a central database doesn’t go through the rigger of having a bunch of individual actors verifying it.
2 Likes
#2918
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
    Multiple different maybe independent actors decide if it is the truth and have to agree with each others -> to get a consensus. So there is no leader. Everyone has to agree on the same result by themself
  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    There is a central authority which decides what the truth is. or in a Master<->Slave principle the master decides. But in blockchain every actor is equal and every voice counts.
2 Likes
#2919

1:it means that participants of the blockchain have to come to the conclusion that transactions are verifiable. If a transaction is not verified by consensus, its not added to the blockchain. All participants are incentivized to only verify legit transactions, therefore trust is removed because every transaction is true.

2:the truth of a central database is relying on trust of every participant, also it can be altered by a central authority, which exposes it to manipulation.

2 Likes
#2920

  1. It means that for a transaction to succeed, all the blocks in the blockchain need to agree that the transaction is correct for it to go throught and create a new valid transaction that is integrated into every block of the blockchain and eventually into a new block.

  2. A central database is based on trust and is lacking in transparancy because it cannot be fully incentivized to deliver honest informations about the manipulations of a product.

2 Likes
#2921
  • What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?
    It means that with consensus you remove trust to determine the truth. It´s not because you trust in what others are saying but because you can verify it
  • How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    It´s different because in Blockchain all the computers that are part of the network have the incentive, to tell the truth, and be honest. After all, that´s the way you can earn money.
    In a central database, you can manipulate the truth depending on what is better for you.
2 Likes
#2922

1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
All computers participating in the blockchain need to verify if each transaction is legitimate or not. Each party is incentivized for being truthful.
2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
Central databases can be easily manipulated and used to benefit certain entities’ personal interests. They are not easily traceable and mostly hidden from public knowledge.

2 Likes
#2923

1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?

  • What ends up on the ledger has to be verified for all of the computers, and the computers are incentived through financial means by being truthful.

2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?

  • This is different than a central database because the process is trustless.
2 Likes
#2924

  1. In blockchain, consensus determines the truth because when a new transaction comes through in cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, the network of computers (people) need to verify whether the transaction is authentic or false. This generally means that they reach an agreement on whether or not they should accept or reject the transaction.

  2. Because blockchain is decentralized, no third party or government is required to verify any transaction. In Blockchain, you can only add data to a database and can’t remove it. Thus, making it easier for anyone to verify the authenticity of a transaction. But in a central database, data can be manipulated and changed into any form making it complicated to verify the truthlessness of something.

2 Likes
#2925
  1. All parties come to a agreement about what is true, they are incentivized to be honest.

2.A central database can be getting mis information from a partner that is supplying them goods. For example, the cow may or may not be eating hay that is “healthy” being used to create yogurt.

2 Likes
#2926
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
  • The main part is that many parties are involved. If we want a transaction to be valid, the network should accept it. But if all of these parties find that it is false, the transaction is automatically discarded.
  1. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
  • In the central database, we depend on someone who should authorize your request. The responsible person can decide whatever he wants.
1 Like
#2927
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?

Since blockchain is a public ledger, consensus eliminates the need for trust allowing all stakeholders the ability to collectively verify the truth. Moreover, the consensus is achievable by having incentives in place for miners (nodes).

  1. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?

In a centralized database, truth is determined by trusting a central entity’s database rather than a decentralized consensus-based database.

1 Like
#2928
  1. In blockchain, consensus determines the truth because the information can be verified and is validated by a network of nodes incentivized to register only the valid information on the blocks.
  2. In a central database the truth is determined by the trust on one single party. The information can be modified by one central authority without any need for validation.
1 Like
#2929
  1. In blockchain, there is a consensus made up of the approval of multiple parties to verify each data point added to the ledger. Each party is monetarily incentivized to be honest, creating the ability to verify that all data are correct.
  2. In a central database, there is no consensus. Instead, there is a central governing party who determines which data to add to the ledger, and no way to verify that the data is valid.
1 Like
#2930

1- In blockchain, consensus means that all parties are in agreement on the decisions made. When you have a network of computers communicating with each other over the same copy of information and those computers are financially incentivized to verify the information with one another, then the consensus achieved can determine the truth without the need for trust between the computers

2- Truth is determined in a central database by the central figure that controls the database. One must rely on the credibility and trust of the central figure. The system is not trustless.

1 Like
#2931
  1. if any computer on the network decides the transaction is invalid then that transaction will be rejected. all the computers involved must verify a transaction is valid. there is not a single centralized entity that determines truth, but rather a decentralized network.
  2. in a central database users must trust the central authority. whatever the central authority says, however, may in fact not be true.
1 Like
#2932
  1. Consensus means that all parties validate the truth. If untruthful transactions are pushed through they will be ignored. There is an incentive to only act truthfully as you lose trust and will not be registered on the ledger.
  2. A central Db can be manipulated by a single entity. There is no publicly verifying the data.
1 Like
#2933

  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
    After number of entities verified the validity of the transaction, once most of the entities will verify the transaction(s) a consensus will be reached and the transaction(s) will be added to the blockchain.

  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    Requires one centralized entity to govern and decide the validity of each transaction.
    This DB can be compromised by inside or outside intervention. when a decentralized system will need to reach consensus in order to be compromised, and in a big strong networks with big strong number of validator nodes and miners it is almost impossible to achieve.

1 Like