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You can just solve this with locking or a (self referencing) unique foreign key constraint on any mainstream SQL db though. If we include programming langues as

You can just solve this with locking or a (self referencing) unique foreign key constraint on any mainstream SQL db though. If we include programming langues as well, the possible amount of solutions multiplies.

arlcode 4y ago
As the article's author says at some point society is always built on trust in another entity. Crypto fully shifts this from the database operator to the software developer and is willing to accept significant trade offs to do so. Most of the unique complexity and challenges in blockchain technology originates from this.
- bredren 4y ago
  The author also says all of the implementations he witnessed were reliant on databases and did not require the unique complexity and challenges of the blockchain.
  - delaaxe 4y ago
    Whether or not the underlying storage mechanism uses a database is not the point. The point is who can edit that database and under which rules (imagine that database holds a lot of your money and you live in an oppressive regime).
    - dmitriid 4y ago
      > imagine that database holds a lot of your money and you live in an oppressive regime That opressive regime holds: - your access to the internet (crypto requires continuous access to internet to function) - your access to exchange offices because crypto is useless if it cannot be converted to fiat So, what exactly have you solved?
      - miracle2k 4y ago
        > So, what exactly have you solved? Ownership of your funds, which is the primary requirement from which all others stem. You will still have those when you regain access to the internet, or the ability to spend them. The reality is that a government having the ability to confiscate the funds in your bank account, and attempting to restrict you and your neighbours peer to peer actions, personal mobility or internet access are totally different things. This sort black and white thinking provides lacks a valuable analysis of actual power structures. No one claims your crypto currency will protect you from a bullet.
        dmitriid 4y ago
        > Ownership of your funds, Which ends the moment that oppressive government makes you give up your keys. > This sort black and white thinking provides lacks a valuable analysis of actual power structures. The "blockchain is godsend for oppressive governments" is the sort of non-thinking that is currently unsurprising for most crypto enthusiasts pushing it while completely ignoring (or plain not knowing) the realities.
        dragonwriter 4y ago
        > > So, what exactly have you solved? > Ownership of your funds Nope, ownership is law. The problem you’ve mitigated (but not solved) is the ability to retain possession of your funds. > The reality is that a government having the ability to confiscate the funds in your bank account, and attempting to restrict you and your neighbours peer to peer actions, personal mobility or internet access are totally different things. They are motivated on rely on very much the same social conditions, they are not “totally different things”, and they are even less different the more it becomes necessary for the government to do the latter in order to achieve the effect of the former. > No one claims your crypto currency will protect you from a bullet. The capacity and willingness to use a bullet to effectuate their will for that end is what enables a government to drain your money from a bank; it may be masked and may not be immediately evident in the mechanics they use to do it in practice, because the time and repetition and institutionalization has routinized and streamlined the process. But, at root, its all the bullet.
      - 4y ago

arlcode 4y ago

As the article's author says at some point society is always built on trust in another entity. Crypto fully shifts this from the database operator to the software developer and is willing to accept significant trade offs to do so. Most of the unique complexity and challenges in blockchain technology originates from this.

bredren 4y ago
The author also says all of the implementations he witnessed were reliant on databases and did not require the unique complexity and challenges of the blockchain.
- delaaxe 4y ago
  Whether or not the underlying storage mechanism uses a database is not the point. The point is who can edit that database and under which rules (imagine that database holds a lot of your money and you live in an oppressive regime).
  - dmitriid 4y ago
    > imagine that database holds a lot of your money and you live in an oppressive regime That opressive regime holds: - your access to the internet (crypto requires continuous access to internet to function) - your access to exchange offices because crypto is useless if it cannot be converted to fiat So, what exactly have you solved?
    - miracle2k 4y ago
      > So, what exactly have you solved? Ownership of your funds, which is the primary requirement from which all others stem. You will still have those when you regain access to the internet, or the ability to spend them. The reality is that a government having the ability to confiscate the funds in your bank account, and attempting to restrict you and your neighbours peer to peer actions, personal mobility or internet access are totally different things. This sort black and white thinking provides lacks a valuable analysis of actual power structures. No one claims your crypto currency will protect you from a bullet.
      - dmitriid 4y ago
        > Ownership of your funds, Which ends the moment that oppressive government makes you give up your keys. > This sort black and white thinking provides lacks a valuable analysis of actual power structures. The "blockchain is godsend for oppressive governments" is the sort of non-thinking that is currently unsurprising for most crypto enthusiasts pushing it while completely ignoring (or plain not knowing) the realities.
      - dragonwriter 4y ago
        > > So, what exactly have you solved? > Ownership of your funds Nope, ownership is law. The problem you’ve mitigated (but not solved) is the ability to retain possession of your funds. > The reality is that a government having the ability to confiscate the funds in your bank account, and attempting to restrict you and your neighbours peer to peer actions, personal mobility or internet access are totally different things. They are motivated on rely on very much the same social conditions, they are not “totally different things”, and they are even less different the more it becomes necessary for the government to do the latter in order to achieve the effect of the former. > No one claims your crypto currency will protect you from a bullet. The capacity and willingness to use a bullet to effectuate their will for that end is what enables a government to drain your money from a bank; it may be masked and may not be immediately evident in the mechanics they use to do it in practice, because the time and repetition and institutionalization has routinized and streamlined the process. But, at root, its all the bullet.
    - 4y ago