Homework on Consensus - Questions

Blockchain and Bitcoin 101
#1931
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
    It means the network decides if the recent change in the blockchain was correct or not. If it is a new blocks is added, if not it will be ignored.
  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    In a central database usually a single entity decides on the truth. Which makes the database more vulnerable to error and corruption.
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#1932

  1. all nodes on the network need to agree that a transaction is valid to add a transaction to the blockchain so eventually everything on the blockchain myst be “true”

  2. In a central database a central authority can dictate the “truth” by unilateral action

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#1933

  1. Transactions are collectivley verified for a financial reward if its the truth from within the network and if they all agree they will be added to the ledger.

  2. A centralised database won’t have the network and therefore a financial reward seeking the truth for verified transactions as one centralised entity can manipulate and have full authority of the database.

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#1934
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?

The entire network decides on the authenticity of a transaction as opposed to a single source.

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

A central database is the single source of truth without any additional verification from other sources.

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#1935

Consensus:
What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
Nodes on the network will agree to authenticate a command or reject it.

How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
It’s not totally reliable therefor it can’t be trust less.

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#1936

  1. Transaction is only added to the blockchain when all the nodes agree and verify that the transaction is accurate.

  2. A central database could have provided inaccurate information. We have to trust the information provided. Not verify by external bodies.

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#1937

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

All the nodes of the network are interconnected and involved in the verification of all transactions. They are incentivized in telling the truth. This plants transparency on the larger.

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

Due to the central database being centralized, the decisions and origins of the transaction can be hidden or manipulated.

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#1938

1 - A new transaction is added to the blockchain only if all nodes in the network agree on its legitimacy - else, it gets discarded.
2 - Centralized databases always need to trust their own suppliers, processes or workflows.

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#1939
  1. Consensus incentivizes you to tell the truth, all decisions are made together.
  2. In a central database there is no one to double check or verify that what has been added to it is true, we trust them and we can not verify it.
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#1940

  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
    It means that all nodes which run copies of the same blockchain, are in agreement on the input data being true.

  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    The truth in this case is determined by a singular operator. That truth can be falsely altered without proper verification.

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#1941

[quote=“ivan, post:1, topic:8425, full:true”]
Homework on Consensus - Questions

  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
    Because a group of people/buisnesses all have to give their oppinion and review on a product, things that are false will be noticed and will not be accepted. Honesty will show by the reviews of trustability of the group.
  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    with a centralized database you always have a party that can intervene in a verificaftion, they can change things because they have the final control over the verification. With a decentralized database everyone can consensus the verification.
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#1942

Homework: Consensus

  1. Consensus is fundamental to blockchain’s goal of creating a trustless network, removing the counter party risk of trust. Consensus in blockchain refers to each network participant verifying transactions and coming to agreement that all transactions agreed upon will be added to the shared ledger.
  2. Truth is not determined in a central database. It’s not verified by network participants. Trust is added through faith and not by mathematics. Trust is the growth market.
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#1943

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

Since blockchain works in an interconnected network of numerous individuals, all must be in accordance that the transaction is true, therefore the overall consensus is that the specific transaction is accepted by the entire network, and can be added to the blockchain.

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

A central database is controlled by a singular entity that may, or may not have correct information. The view of the majority will always hold more truth and will be taken into account than that of the view of a single individual or establishment.

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#1944

  1. When we say that in blockchain , consensus determine the truth , it simple means that since the decision have to be made by several blockchain databases / computers in the blockchain and you have been awarded for being honest , there are very negligible chances of fraud . Infact no chance , coz even if one computer / node will not accept the transaction , the whole transation will get stucked and it will not get processed .

  2. In central database , you can contact your verifier but in blockchain , it is next to impossible :slight_smile:

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#1945

  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determine the truth?
    R: In the blockchain adding a new block need the agreement of the other computers from the network. The block will be added only if all the computers agrees if the transaction make sense or not.

  2. How is this different from how truth is determined in a central database?
    R: Central databases are own by one entity and this entity can introduce false data to improve their statistics. Beside this tracing back a transaction to the origins is really difficult.

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#1946
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?

A. Blockchain is a network of computers containing a ledger of all transactions. Once a new transaction wants to be made all computers in the network verify the ledger they have to confirm the transaction is valid. All the computers within the network are given financial incentives to confirm the transactions are truthful, compared to their ledger. It is the confirmation from multiple sources, not just one, that allows for this to be written to the blockchain and confirmed.

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

A. A central database is dependent on a trust system not a verification one. It is centrally owned and can be manipulated to present falsified data. It does not have a consensus from every computer on the network.

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#1947

  1. in blockchain the idea of consensus determining the truth means that if you have a majority and hopefully all the nodes on the decentralised database in agreement then transactions and information can be included on to the blockchain network. this in a sense becomes the validation for truth.

  2. On a centralised database there is a heavy reliance on trust to provide a perception of truth however this is prone to bias and error by the very nature of having over arching single points of failure. This means that information and transactions are not openly and broadly scrutinised to provide validation through majority or absolute consensus which then enables provenance. I use the concept of majority to indicate the idea of rewards to encourage general good behaveour especially in light of a possible 51% attack which would be costly compared to block rewards and renumeration to encourage more agreeable non hostile and productive consenus to secure the network.

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#1948
  1. What does it mean when we say that in blockchain, consensus determines the truth?

consensus means that all the ledgers in the blockchain are agreeable and are recording the exact same transactions. therefore if all the ledgers end up with the same result, it serves as proof of truth.

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

In a central database, only the central database can claim the truth, making it vulnerable and easy to manipulate or corrupt. if thousands of database are interconnected, transparent and independent, and obtainthe same result, this serve as ultimate truth

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#1949

  1. In a blockchain all of the various players that maintain the records are incentivised to make sure that the records are true. The result is a set of matching records that represent the consensus. Any untrue entries are purged by the community.

  2. A central database is controlled by a central authority. It contains what the central authority determines it should regardless of validity.

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#1950

  1. In basic terms, a consensus is removing trust, and it’s achieved through financial incentives. All participants agree on a consensus on the status of ledger to verify the transaction.

  2. The difference between a central database and a public blockchain database is that there is a central administrator in a central database, who has the authority to maintain and update the database. A public database is decentralized, works on a global scale without any single authority. Thousands and thousands of people must agree to verify and authenticate transactions on the blockchain.

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