2 ms·

There's a distinction that we're talking past each other with, as evidenced by your NoSQL example. NoSQL is not as much a discovery as distributed consensus is

There's a distinction that we're talking past each other with, as evidenced by your NoSQL example. NoSQL is not as much a discovery as distributed consensus is - its more of a forward step in database technology (down a certain branch). Distributed consensus was not all that incremental nor precedented. Its not quite something that was imagined much before it was around in any fine detail. Considering how novel the innovation was, and how out of the blue it came, it makes sense to consider it more a 'new' thing that may have applications not easily thought of. I'm sure in the smaller domain of databses NoSQL has been discovered to be useful for businesses or processes after its invention.

Closi 5y ago
The point isn't that Blockchains are or aren't more novel than a NoSQL database - it's that both are technologies and not a solution to a clearly defined problem. Basic solution design says start with a problem that needs to be solved and understand the key requirements, and then decide what technology best matches the requirements. That might be blockchain, or it might be something else. Asking 'what can we build as a blockchain' is poor engineering, lazy thought process and symptomatic of a technology bubble IMO.