Homework on Consensus - Questions

[markyb]

1. In blockchain, consensus determining the truth means that a transaction is only deemed to be truthful when it has been agreed to be so by all nodes.

2. On a normal database, truth can be declared without any validation by one person or one group. Facebook and Twitters recent censorship and “fact-checkers” are a great example of this currently.

[AMF]

1. It means that not single party take decision and its decentralized
2. Central data base decisions can be taken by single person/party

[Hogie]

1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
information is verified from multiple people/machines
2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
an authority of the database verifies the information instead of a group

[MatheusGebrim]

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

New data added to the blockchain needs to go through a node to be validated. Said validation is achieved by consensus of the nodes on the network (blockchain).
If the new data inputted is validated only by a single node on the network, it’s considered untrue and disposed of. Whereas if the new that inputted is validated by every single node on the network, it means that the nodes reached a consensus that the new data is true and it is added to the blockchain.

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

In a central database, it does not have a consensus mechanism, the data that is inputted is considered to be true.

[kryptoJr]

1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
   Consensus determines truth because all decisions or transactions must be made in agreement.
   All nodes in the network have met an agreement on one thing therefore determining the
   truth.

2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
   This is different because truth in a central database can be conflicting. It can also be changed.
   Not all parties have to agree for information to be posted. Working from a decentralized platform
   allows trustless transactions to occur.

[giselle]

1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
   It means that the whole network is on an agreement because concensus is achieved through general agreement of all the databases. No way to cheat because it isn’t centralised.
2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
   Central data base is basically one man show because who ever is being appointed for the position has the power to change the database whereas in decentralised data base thats not possible because the system checks with all the other databases for consensus (a general agreement).

[khary_B]

1. when you have many people operating computers that validate or confirm transaction to be true.
   2)There are many validators in many locations all looking at the public blockchain record as opposed to one centralized location

[Wevcl]

1. In Blockchain, consensus is when the computers within the blockchain network determines together whether a new transaction is legitimate or not.
2. Blockchain consensus is different than how truth is determined by a centralized database, because blockchain consensus is established by monetary incentives.

[Acqua]

Hello!

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

Consensus is a mechanism used to ensure that each added transactions are legitimate, are « true ». If the transaction is verified by the members of the network, if they reach consensus following a certain set of rules, the transaction is said to be true and added to the ledger. Hence why we say consensus determines the truth.

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

In a central database, we rely on trust. The individual or organization that owns the priviledge to the database could potentially modify, alter or delete an entry. In addition to that, auditing for truth verification purposes could be laborious or even impossible, whereas on a public blockchain verification is pretty much built-in.

[CryptoWes]

1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
   Because Consensus will remove trust and it is impossible to cheat.
2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
   The central data base is not decentralized and it is possible to be manipulate by the owner.

[cryptokimi]

1.Consensus determines the truth because the parties (nodes) decide what is accepted into the blockchain and thus it becomes difficult to cheat or corrupt the truth. It is a big part of what makes trustlessness.
2. The truth in a central database is can be corrupted by its authority and it can then lie because it cannot be verified otherwise

[frmrlayman1]

1. Blockchain and Consensus are determining the truth because the network of computers are incentivized to tell the truth by utilizing the open network communication of the supply chain.

2. A central database will not be able to determine the truth because it will only be exposed after private information is leaked about transactions, contracts, or false claims. Verification is either instant and unsecure or painstakingly slow in confirming funds validation for transfer or details in protocol and processes.

[DaveF]

1. Consensus determines truth in blockchain means only correct and truthful transactions are recorded and that all parties or verifiers have to be in consensus of that truth. The verifiers are rewarded for determining what records are truthful and which are not.
2. In a central database, truth is determined by the central authority and one would have to trust that the central authority is being truthful. It is not verifiable by disinterested parties as in blockchain. Reward for being untruthful in a centralized system can still be given, and in fact may even incentivize the centralized system to be untruthful.

[katya]

1. Because if all users, incentivised by money, agree on something it must be true. Also, there are multiple versions of a lie, but only one truth therefore it’s easier to verify if everyone in the network have bet on the same thing.

2. Central database is only one verifier. They can decide on their version of the truth.

[MoonTech]

@ivan

• What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
• How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?

(1) It means that there are multiple parties that have an incentive to determine if a transaction is valid before it is officially entered onto the blockchain as valid.
(2) It seems that anyone can create a database. It is then determined to be truthful as to who put the data in and how trustworthy they are. Blokchain is meant to be trustless.

[HereWeGo]

1. It means that we remove the need for trust and verify something is true by checks on the network by, at least, the majority of the parts that are part of the network. This validation by the majority of the network is what we call consensus.

2. In a central database the so-called truth in the network is no more than trust deposited on the information to be what it says it is. Since only the part who runs the central database has access to the information held on it and the facts that they can delete and modify such information, there is no way to know the veracity of it unless we are granted access to the database which, by the very nature of a centralized system, we don’t naturally have without the control of or permission to see it.

[Mallar_N]

• What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
  It means that the authenticity of any transaction is put to vote by all members in the blockchain and the outcome of the vote (majority) determines if the given transaction is to be considered authentic/valid or not.
• How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
  In a central database, truth is determined by the single version of truth which the database holds and is to be accepted by all others. However, in blockchain, every member has a full copy of all transactions and can therefore determine the truth independent of the central database.

[Anugata]

@ivan

• What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
• How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?

1. Because all people using the chain rely on the data that is agreed by all parties, no one can treat and play outside the rules in the network.

2. In a central database, all users rely on the single provenance which may be the server owner or the middle-man. People cannot verify with any parties holding the publicly-agreed database but only to trust the data provider.

[Rohit_Kamble]

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

• In blockchain, to build trustlessness, a transaction has to be agreed by all the parties of the network (ledgers). Whether to accept or reject the transaction is achieved by performing math and by providing financial incentives to the validator.

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

• Since the ledger entry is maintained by network of computers (parties) it is decentralized and the transaction can only be accepted when all parties of the network agree. Single entity cannot determine the truth like central database

[Twenty_Seven_Sounds]

Consensus Answers

1. On Blockchain or any decentralized network when we say we utilize “consensus to determine the truth” what we mean exactly is that all nodes connected to the network are financially incentivized, to be honest about all transactions on the network. They are rewarded for being honest and punished for bedishonest. There is no incentive to cheat.

2. On a central database there is no consensus mechanism to incentivize the truth, it’s this sole central authority responsible for the validity of the centralized ledger.