Homework on Consensus - Questions

Blockchain and Bitcoin 101
#4842

  1. Consensus determines the truth through a network of computers/users that are incentivized to agree on what is true or not in a transaction. Once agreed upon and consensus is achieved, the transaction is confirmed.

  2. Central databases rely on trust and cannot be mathematically proven. There is no incentive to tell the truth. Confidence is removed.

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#4843

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

Consensus, in blockchain, is an election process of agreeing/confirming a transaction or block to be true, adding it to a given ledger. A consensus is algorithmically driven, known better as a consensus mechanism (PoW, PoS) that is performed by decentralised participants on the network.

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

Truth in a central database, can be derived from many sources (Discovery, User input for example) and is often considered the ā€œbest information available at the timeā€ by the issuing central authority (CA)/owner of the database. Such information or ā€œtruthā€ may be subject to change, based on new information or new discoveries, which can cause the transformation of an existing truth by way of an overwrite, rather than an immutable evolution of record.

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#4844

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

In blockchain consensus determines truth by verifying all parts of each transaction thus making it so you can trust the blockchain and not the people using it

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

In a central database you have to trust each individual source instead of a universal source that checks the validity of each person for you

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#4845

  1. By trustlessnes - All decisions are confirmed by all nodes in the network/ledger so you donā€™t need to trust a central entety.

  2. You have to trust the central data base contra an incentive system which rewards honesty.

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#4846

  1. That means if the transaction is invalid it cannot be executed. All parties need to confirm transaction.

  2. In central database it is difficult to discover the truth because data can change.

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#4847

1-) What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
= The ability of several nodes to verify a transaction and reach consensus which determines the truth.

2-) How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
= In a central database we have to blindly trust a party and assume that the data has not been altered but in blockchain there are several nodes or parties that verify the transaction, only then do they reach a consensus that determines the truth.

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#4848

  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?
    A transaction requires the approval/verification of not just one person or node but a group of people or nodes which leads to a consensus of truth

  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    Central database may be only maintained by a single individual or a single organization leaving the database open to alterations that are not verified.

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#4849
  1. In Blockchain concensus determines the truth by verification networks. The concensus is achived by financial incentives. People geting paid to be hounest or punished if they are not.
  2. In central database the information need to be trusted. In Blockchain the truth is veryfied by collective consensus , so its decentralice and trustles!
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#4850

Homework on Consensus - Questions

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

In blockchain all the part participants in the blockchain consensus are financially incentivized, to tell the truth, if one part tries not to it will lose the incentives.

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

In a centralized database, the truth is the keepersā€™ truth. as there is a conflict of interest in what truth should be recorded so the provider of information can benefit from his own truth.

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#4851

  1. the consensus mechanism makes sure that new added transactions are legitimate and are following the rules of the network.

  2. A central database can have information amended or omitted by a single or group of actors within a central authority and trust is required to accept the authenticity and accuracy from who provides authority and those authorized with limited or no external verification by other centralized independent regulative

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#4852
  1. The consensus given from the nodes determinate the truth, the only one truth which is given from the network agreed and not from third parties.
  2. The truth is determinate from a trustless system which is decentralised.
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#4853

  1. Its a decentralised network and all nodes have a copy of the public ledger meaning there has to be agreement/verification for the transaction to be allowed into the blockchain.

  2. In a central database there is just a single party that decides, meaning that it can be easily manipulated.

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#4854
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?

In a blockchain, a consensus is based on the majority who is able to verify the transaction. Therefore, there is no one particular or centralized authority, but it is based upon the majority making it decentralized in nature. In return, the incentive to verify the transaction is rewarded financially keeping the system honest.

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

A central database cannot be traced because the data it has can be altered therefore making it not verifiable. When verifiability cannot be determined, a consensus cannot be established as there is no consensus. In conjunction with digital provenance, where tracking of a transaction can be traced, when provenance is not established, then consensus cannot as well.

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#4855
  • 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?

In the use of blockchain, the nodes work together to come to a consensus about transactions. If the transactions are approved by consensus, rather than trust.

A central database has the potential to be manipulated and relies on trust.

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#4856 
1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?

In blockchain, consensus determines the truth by running the transaction through several networks/ parties which decide if the transaction is true or not.

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

Central database rely on trust, the data can be easily manipulated creating misleading changes therefore cannot be verified

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#4857
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?

The truth has to come from a Consensus in the network what is true and what is false about any transactions

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

The difference is the decentralization of authority so something is not determined by one person it is a network that has to agree

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#4858

  1. Consensus determines the truth because several parties are making a decision on something, because the system is decentralized, it makes it difficult
    to cheat the system.

  2. Central database is not decentralized, and the decision is most likely made by one or a few parties.

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#4859

When we say that in blockchain consensus determines the truth, we mean that the collective nodes or validators on the network verified the transaction or whatever it is thatā€™s being questioned (ingredients in a food supply chain for example)

A central databases integrity relies solely on the trust of the single database owner or the integrity of the security of the single database owner

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#4860

  1. In blockchain, all decisions (transactions) are made/checked by all nodes. Every nodes checks by the same rule, and as a reward, they get a reward for verifying correct transactions.

  2. In a central database, the data is stored by a single company, therefore we need to trust the company for them storing the data safely and without getting revised or removed. In a blockchain network, computers all around the world stores the data, and adding a new data requires permission from all the computers. Therefore, the blockchain network is impossible to cheat.

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#4861

  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?
    Consensus is reached through the collectively verification and agreement by all the participants in the network. If there is disagreement, the transaction will not be added into the ledger.

  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    There is a central authority in a central database and the truth is determined by this authority.

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