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A blockchain. He's calling for a blockchain. He even has an IETF draft spec for it: https://tools.ietf.org/id/draft-pouwelse-trustchain-01.html https://tools.ie

by jude- 6y ago

A blockchain. He's calling for a blockchain. He even has an IETF draft spec for it: https://tools.ietf.org/id/draft-pouwelse-trustchain-01.html https://tools.ietf.org/id/draft-pouwelse-trustchain-01.html

m00dy 6y ago
Blockchain is a very generic term nowadays. E.g. A linked list is also a blockchain.
- mightybyte 6y ago
  I don't know that I would go quite that far. A blockchain is a linked list, but IMO a run-of-the-mill linked list doesn't quite make the cut to be a blockchain because I would argue that the essence of the word "blockchain" has to do with the "one block contains the hash of the previous block" property. A C-style linked list where the link is a pointer to a memory location would not be a blockchain. That being said, I will definitely agree with you that the word "blockchain" is very overused and underspecified these days. Just because a term is often misused doesn't mean it has no definition. I think most of that is just laziness on the part of whoever is using it and not actual lack of...consensus...on a fairly clear definition.
  - Turing_Machine 6y ago
    I agree. The whole point of a blockchain is to make it difficult to change a block after it's been inserted. This is normally done by making subsequent blocks dependent on the value of previous blocks in some way (e.g., hashing). That makes it hard to change an earlier block without also altering every subsequent block, which is a problem of an entirely different order of magnitude than just changing a single block (particularly if generating the hashes is computationally expensive). A normal linked list has no mechanism to avoid block substitutions. Entries have absolutely no dependence on the contents of previous entries, and can thus be swapped out at will.
- hanniabu 6y ago
  I think this is a square is a rectangle but a rectangle isn't a square type of thing. A blockchain is a linked list, but a linked list isn't a blockchain.
  - astrange 6y ago
    Surely one feature of a linked list is you can edit it in the middle? A blockchain is an append-only log or a Merkle tree.
- qbasic_forever 6y ago
  Heh, looking forward to hear about people being asked in tech interviews to reverse a blockchain.
- specialist 6y ago
  Is it? Just from the hip: Start with an audit log. Add tamper detection with a rolling hash: blockchain. Add multi party consensus: distributed blockchain. Add some kind of digital signature: web of trust. Add some kind of proof of work: cryptocurrency.
hanniabu 6y ago
That introduction either shows he has a fundamental misunderstanding (which i doubt) or is intentionally misleading the reader. For example, he talks about Mt Gox and how blockchain isn't being adopted due to these vulnerabilities, completely missing the fact that these vulnerabilities are a result of a centralized gateway. It's not due to some inherent flaw in the blockchain.

by jude- 6y ago

m00dy 6y ago

Blockchain is a very generic term nowadays. E.g. A linked list is also a blockchain.

mightybyte 6y ago
I don't know that I would go quite that far. A blockchain is a linked list, but IMO a run-of-the-mill linked list doesn't quite make the cut to be a blockchain because I would argue that the essence of the word "blockchain" has to do with the "one block contains the hash of the previous block" property. A C-style linked list where the link is a pointer to a memory location would not be a blockchain. That being said, I will definitely agree with you that the word "blockchain" is very overused and underspecified these days. Just because a term is often misused doesn't mean it has no definition. I think most of that is just laziness on the part of whoever is using it and not actual lack of...consensus...on a fairly clear definition.
- Turing_Machine 6y ago
  I agree. The whole point of a blockchain is to make it difficult to change a block after it's been inserted. This is normally done by making subsequent blocks dependent on the value of previous blocks in some way (e.g., hashing). That makes it hard to change an earlier block without also altering every subsequent block, which is a problem of an entirely different order of magnitude than just changing a single block (particularly if generating the hashes is computationally expensive). A normal linked list has no mechanism to avoid block substitutions. Entries have absolutely no dependence on the contents of previous entries, and can thus be swapped out at will.
hanniabu 6y ago
I think this is a square is a rectangle but a rectangle isn't a square type of thing. A blockchain is a linked list, but a linked list isn't a blockchain.
- astrange 6y ago
  Surely one feature of a linked list is you can edit it in the middle? A blockchain is an append-only log or a Merkle tree.
qbasic_forever 6y ago
Heh, looking forward to hear about people being asked in tech interviews to reverse a blockchain.
specialist 6y ago
Is it? Just from the hip: Start with an audit log. Add tamper detection with a rolling hash: blockchain. Add multi party consensus: distributed blockchain. Add some kind of digital signature: web of trust. Add some kind of proof of work: cryptocurrency.

hanniabu 6y ago

That introduction either shows he has a fundamental misunderstanding (which i doubt) or is intentionally misleading the reader. For example, he talks about Mt Gox and how blockchain isn't being adopted due to these vulnerabilities, completely missing the fact that these vulnerabilities are a result of a centralized gateway. It's not due to some inherent flaw in the blockchain.