Homework on Consensus - Questions

  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
    A transaction is only reliable if the majority of all nodes (51%) approve the transaction based on pre-established rules. it’s hard to cheat the system.

  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    The difference is that we have to trust 1 or more parties whether the transaction is correct. Take a transfer from a bank as an example. We have to trust that the bank approves the transaction and transfers the money to the other account, no one else can stop or approve the transaction.

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trough consensus and verifying all transactions everyone in the system needs to agree about transaction and to validate everything…in the central database,all transactions are based on trust …no consensus and validation needed

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What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?
Each node has to approve each transaction, determining the truth and removing the need for trust.

How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
In a central database truth is based on trust.

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  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?
    Because if all (or the majority) nodes state that a determined transaction is correct, or a a fact to conform to reality, then said claim must be true, by the agreement of the the majority (or all, ideally)

  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    A central database is owned by a single organization, or a single party, therefore, as much as it may have an impecable reputation, there is always a trust issue of whether their claim is true or not. That is why they need 3rd party auditors o sometimes the Tax Authorities to verify if their claims conform to reality or not. Central Databases are opaque and can be tampered.

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  1. Because transactions need to be validated (agreed upon) the different computers that are part of the network (the majority) and when a transaction is accepted, it is written in the blockchain and cannot be changed, so that is the truth. But furthermore, those different computers are financially incentivized to tell the truth and not try to cheat - you would need the majority of computers to “validate” that attempt.

  2. On a centralized database, the owner / the one that has access to the database, can modify it and determine the truth.

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  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?
    All nodes participating in the network must first be in agreement of the truth (reach a consensus), and only once they have all agreed the data can be added into the blockchain ledger.

  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    A central database is governed by a single person/entity that has complete control over what kind of truth they would like the public to see. They can mould, amend, edit, manipulate the “truth” with their own powers without having to ask for anyone else’s agreement - it is a truth without the need of consensus.

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Answers on Consensus Homework

  1. given that all participants of the network can look at the same data independently and simultaneously, it is impossible in practice for all of them to connive and cheat. Besides, they are incentivized to play by the rules. So consensus defines the truth.

  2. In a central database, you need to either get yourself a proof of the truth of get a trusted third party (i.e. somebody you know or somebody you do not know but who can be trusted because of competencies and independence, such as an auditor or inspector) to check and report that this is true, which can be time-consuming and costly.

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1)it means that the truth is decided and agreed on collectively by the people
2)in a central database there’s a central authority that decides the truth

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  1. All copies of the blockchain storing the data agree on the information that is being stored so TRUST is not needed.
  2. You don’t need to TRUST the centralized database is storing and retrieving the correct information.
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Good answer! Im gonna use that lol

  1. It means that multiple party’s agrees on a transaction that gets placed on the ledger.

  2. In a central database, people may not be incentivized to make money by telling the truth and it is not a decentralized network that makes decisions .

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  1. It means that the network’s “truth” is created not by any one validator or node, but by the agreement reached by all the nodes

  2. A central database can be written to by a single, central authority

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Consensus meaning, in terms of blockchain, may be thought of as an agreement reached by the group. In the case of blockchain the group is a network of computers running the blockchain which is based on cryptography and widely distributed network each hosting the full copy of the ledger.
Since blockchain, in essence, is a decentralized ledger to which transactions may be added, but not changed or removed, there must be an agreement by the majority of the network as to what transaction may be added to the chain. This is required so the double spend issue does not occur, is not able to occur. I cannot just make a transaction and add it to the chain if I do not have the particular transaction capabilities. Such as, “I have this huge number of bitcoins that I want to exchange for fiat currency”. When in fact I do not have that amount.

A central database may me manipulated by a central authority, the authority which has access to the server and program on which the database resides. Example, one central authority has the bitcoin ledger. What prevents an unscrupulous person at the central authority from engaging in fraud?

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  1. more than one party is involved and all of them must agree on a particular “claim” which has to be evaluated before implementation on blockchain (but I still see a possibility of a dishonesty, if all involved parties agree on a lie, so I miss explanation on how “(pre)input” of what is true or not is determined?)
  2. no way to check if something is true or a lie, centralized desicion of one party only
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Homework on Consensus - Questions

  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
  • truth is determined in that it is a network and it goes thru validation of all other participants in the network.
  1. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
  • In a central database the truth can be reliant based on trust, and little to no validation.
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  1. That consensus is needed to make the blockchain work and people is incentivase to tell the truth. If there is no consensus, there is no new transaction.
  2. Central database is managed by one or a small group or persons with particular interests.
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  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
    It means that transaction is valid in case that other nodes in the network confirm the information that this transaction carries.

  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    In the central database the validation of the transaction or some information can be made by one node in the network, and in case that this node is missleading the truth can be altered.

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  1. It means that most of the validators are registering the same thing… which is the truth.
  2. In a central database there is only one entity that validates the “truth”.
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  1. In blockchain truth is determined by a large decentralized network of computers when they all reach consensus - agree on something to be true.
  2. In a central database truth is what the centralized organization says is the truth, even when in reality it has been manipulated or changed in some way.
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  1. It is able to verify what is happening not what is advertised.
  2. Financial incentives for truth where lying leads to financial loss. It brings about accountability,
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