Homework on Consensus - Questions

Blockchain and Bitcoin 101
#4922
  1. The participants in the blockchain are incentivized (they are paid) to tell the truth, which is determined by a consensus (e.g. majority) responses of the blockchain participants. There is no owner of the blockchain, so this is said to be trustless.
  2. The owner of a central database determines what is truth, so the owner has to be trusted.
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#4923
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?
  • In blockchain all participants have to agree (reach consensus) on the validity of a transaction in order to make it part of the blockchain.
  1. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
  • In a central database it is enough the organization owning the database to agree that a transaction happened. That is, a small group of people need to be bribed :wink:
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#4924 
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?

Consensus is the truth because it is made by everybody agreeing that the action is correct.

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

In a centralised database one or few actors can decide what is ’true’ and what is false. -> what happens and what will not happen.

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#4925

  1. All the different nodes in the network have to agree if a transaction is correct or not before it is added to the blockchain.
    In this way the truth will be verified, making it impossible to cheat.

  2. In a central database the data is not verified by everyone, which makes it easy to cheat. Transactions can be removed or altered.
    The truth can be manipulated.

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#4926

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

In blockchain, to reach a consensus all parties must agree, no one single party is making a decision.All information is being double checked, the information present and not present is what’s used to come to a consensus. This process eliminates trust leading to a truthful consensus.

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

In a central database, you have to trust that the information given to you is correct. Anyone who has access to the central database can edit or delete information or they don’t see a risk factor in adding false information unlike in blockchain where everyone is incentivized to tell the truth and work together.

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#4927

  1. It means that nodes in the network together decides what is true and what is false. Decisions aren’t made by a single node, instead many nodes makes the decisions together by using a consensus mechanism. The strength of a decentralized database is determined by the strength of the network.

  2. In a centralized database one entity can decide what is true and what is false. For example, one person can change make CRUD operations on a central database if they got access. So hackers only need to hack one persons computer in order to make changes to the database. Because of this a central database is only as strong as its weakest link.

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#4928

  1. When a transaction is agreed upon it is deemed valid. Only valid transactions can be agreed upon, so only valid transactions can take place in the BlockChain

  2. When the database is centralized it can be manipulated or not shown fully, meaning corruption is possible.

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#4929

  1. A transaction or data entry is confirmed / verified by a decentralized network of computers through agreement / consensus that the transaction is valid and meets the criteria for that specific transaction. Mathematical models remove the requirement for trust by digital verification.

  2. I would say a statement is true or a transaction in true when it meets all the criteria for the transaction and it is verified through consensus.

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#4930

1: The nodes on the network are incentivized to verify the correct transactions. It means, the all the computers on the network agree and will verify the transaction.

2: The truth will come from one entity or company that all agree between a much smaller and select group of people. The trust must be put into the higher-ups to do the right things all the time.

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#4931
  1. Consensus in blockchain means that all the nodes in the network came to an agreement with the same kind of information. This is done in a trustless way, where nobody has to check anybody else’s information because that is done by the blockchain.
  2. In a central base, trust and audits are necessary because someone can change the data and you will not know that without investigating. Data can be skewed in a way that is beneficial to some party.
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#4932
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?
    All the nodes in the network must decide to agree upon whether a transaction is legitimate. Consensus from the nodes is required.
  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    There is no double checking and no “different perspective” on what a central database would return.
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#4933

1: If you have 100 peolple in diffrent rooms , everyone is part of the same supplychain in the same network. all of the people tell the network what they deliver and everyone can se what all the other people said to the network.
No one can change what another person told the network.
now everyone have to say the truth because they are all connected.

  1. In a central database you have to trust the entity who runs the database.
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#4934 
1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?
2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?

  1. Blockchain transactions are reliant upon enough nodes agreeing that that transaction is true. These nodes are not connected to each other, or whoever is making the transaction. There is therefore no benefit to them or the network in a transaction being false. It is therefore unlikely, if not impossible, for a false transaction to be confirmed, because it would have to be confirmed by multiple, unrelated nodes, for no benefit to them.

  2. This is different from a central database because a single person, or company, decides what it true. They therefore have incentives to provide false information as truth, if it is beneficial to them.

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#4935

1- It means via consensus, the database in blockchain can track and trace activites i.e. transactions or other changes in data and can distinguish and ignore disregulated processes that secure all chain. The chain audits itself by the participated units (computers, servers etc.) which create the whole chain, since they are continuously in communication each other.

2- Central systems are related only their center complex, and trust based. All participated units trust on the central complex (central unit). In blockchain all participated units incentifies if the built chain is valid or not and able to verify.

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#4936

truth is decided and agreed on by a collection of people who determine the validation.

In the central database operations, the governing authority of the database decides what is the truth, which can be manipulative.

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#4937
  1. The truth is decided by people so if people do not agree, transaction get discarded.

2.The truth in a central database is determined by only central authority. If database is munipulated, then the truth is altered. In blockchain no authority exsists and public decision makes the truth.

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#4938

1.Consesus determines the truth because all the nodes in the blockchain have to agree on the validity of the transactions prior to being added to the blockchain.

2.A central database is different because they can add or remove transactions without consent from individuals outside the database.

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#4939

  1. Each node on the network verifies the transaction to reach the consensus to determine the truth.

  2. We no longer need to trust single entity to determine the truth.

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#4940

  1. Blockchain consensus determines the truth because all decisions are double checked and verified from ledger and once network agrees on it, it is added into the blockchain.

  2. A central database can be changed or manipulated and cannot be trusted or transparent… Where blockchain network is trustless via provenance and consensus.

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#4941

If the math doesn’t work it’s not true. Can’t be forged
Central database is full of fraud because it’s trusted by whom? Completely untrustworthy.

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