5 ms·

If each block contains the hash of the previous block, then I think that it is a blockchain (regardless of if there is multiple authors or only a single author)

If each block contains the hash of the previous block, then I think that it is a blockchain (regardless of if there is multiple authors or only a single author). A git repository is a blockchain, too.

zeusk 3y ago
Would you know! So Linus is the real father of blockchain?
- CobrastanJorji 3y ago
  Wikipedia suggests that David Chaum first proposed what was basically a blockchain in 1982. He even had a crypto startup way before they were cool, with "eCash" in 1995.
  - rdl 3y ago
    Blind signatures are totally different from hash chains.
- waterheater 3y ago
  According to a news article, the first blockchain application is an application released in 1992 called AbsoluteProof by the company Surety [1]. [1] https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5nzx4/what-was-the-first-blockchain https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5nzx4/what-was-the-first-bl...
  - fanf2 3y ago
    Yay, thank you, I was racking my brains trying to remember Surety as an example in response to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37782446 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37782446
  - 1vuio0pswjnm7 3y ago
    "As Ethereum's cofounder Vitalik Buterin joked on Twitter, if someone wanted to compromise Surety's blockchain they could "make fake newspapers with a different chain of hashes and circulate them more widely." Given that the New York Times has an average daily print circulation of about 570,000 copies, this would probably be the stunt of the century." What if the hash is published in multiple newspapers.
    - fineIllregister 3y ago
      Circulating that many fake newspapers is not possible. If you printed up that many newspapers, who would you give them to? Anyone who wants to read the NYT likely has a source, or at least knows one; same for sellers. The NYT wishes that there were twice as many people who wanted to read their paper.
throw0101a 3y ago
> If each block contains the hash of the previous block, then I think that it is a blockchain […] Or simply a 'hash chain': > A hash chain is similar to a blockchain, as they both utilize a cryptographic hash function for creating a link between two nodes. However, a blockchain (as used by Bitcoin and related systems) is generally intended to support distributed agreement around a public ledger (data), and incorporates a set of rules for encapsulation of data and associated data permissions. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_chain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_chain Or perhaps: > Linked timestamping creates time-stamp tokens which are dependent on each other, entangled in some authenticated data structure. Later modification of the issued time-stamps would invalidate this structure. The temporal order of issued time-stamps is also protected by this data structure, making backdating of the issued time-stamps impossible, even by the issuing server itself. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_timestamping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_timestamping An(other) example of the latter: This document describes a mechanism, called syslog-sign in this document, that adds origin authentication, message integrity, replay resistance, message sequencing, and detection of missing messages to syslog. Essentially, this is accomplished by sending a special syslog message. The content of this syslog message is called a Signature Block. Each Signature Block contains, in effect, a detached signature on some number of previously sent messages. It is cryptographically signed and contains the hashes of previously sent syslog messages. The originator of syslog-sign messages is simply referred to as a "signer". The signer can be the same originator as the originator whose messages it signs, or it can be a separate originator. * https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5848 https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5848
- schneems 3y ago
  I think you’re basically saying that there are still no good known use cases for blockchain (/s but only a little)
  - squarefoot 3y ago
    I know of at least one: making electric heaters that actually contain obsolete mining hardware instead of heating elements. Obsolete to keep costs down and to have an excuse when someone complains "hey, at least we're recycling hardware!" (/s also only a little)
PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
That would imply many encryption schemes are automatically block chain. That's a flawed understanding all the way around.
Snacklive 3y ago
Fancy Linked List

zeusk 3y ago

Would you know! So Linus is the real father of blockchain?

CobrastanJorji 3y ago
Wikipedia suggests that David Chaum first proposed what was basically a blockchain in 1982. He even had a crypto startup way before they were cool, with "eCash" in 1995.
- rdl 3y ago
  Blind signatures are totally different from hash chains.
waterheater 3y ago
According to a news article, the first blockchain application is an application released in 1992 called AbsoluteProof by the company Surety [1]. [1] https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5nzx4/what-was-the-first-blockchain https://www.vice.com/en/article/j5nzx4/what-was-the-first-bl...
- fanf2 3y ago
  Yay, thank you, I was racking my brains trying to remember Surety as an example in response to https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37782446 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37782446
- 1vuio0pswjnm7 3y ago
  "As Ethereum's cofounder Vitalik Buterin joked on Twitter, if someone wanted to compromise Surety's blockchain they could "make fake newspapers with a different chain of hashes and circulate them more widely." Given that the New York Times has an average daily print circulation of about 570,000 copies, this would probably be the stunt of the century." What if the hash is published in multiple newspapers.
  - fineIllregister 3y ago
    Circulating that many fake newspapers is not possible. If you printed up that many newspapers, who would you give them to? Anyone who wants to read the NYT likely has a source, or at least knows one; same for sellers. The NYT wishes that there were twice as many people who wanted to read their paper.

throw0101a 3y ago

> If each block contains the hash of the previous block, then I think that it is a blockchain […] Or simply a 'hash chain': > A hash chain is similar to a blockchain, as they both utilize a cryptographic hash function for creating a link between two nodes. However, a blockchain (as used by Bitcoin and related systems) is generally intended to support distributed agreement around a public ledger (data), and incorporates a set of rules for encapsulation of data and associated data permissions. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_chain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_chain Or perhaps: > Linked timestamping creates time-stamp tokens which are dependent on each other, entangled in some authenticated data structure. Later modification of the issued time-stamps would invalidate this structure. The temporal order of issued time-stamps is also protected by this data structure, making backdating of the issued time-stamps impossible, even by the issuing server itself. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_timestamping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_timestamping An(other) example of the latter: This document describes a mechanism, called syslog-sign in this document, that adds origin authentication, message integrity, replay resistance, message sequencing, and detection of missing messages to syslog. Essentially, this is accomplished by sending a special syslog message. The content of this syslog message is called a Signature Block. Each Signature Block contains, in effect, a detached signature on some number of previously sent messages. It is cryptographically signed and contains the hashes of previously sent syslog messages. The originator of syslog-sign messages is simply referred to as a "signer". The signer can be the same originator as the originator whose messages it signs, or it can be a separate originator. * https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5848 https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc5848

schneems 3y ago
I think you’re basically saying that there are still no good known use cases for blockchain (/s but only a little)
- squarefoot 3y ago
  I know of at least one: making electric heaters that actually contain obsolete mining hardware instead of heating elements. Obsolete to keep costs down and to have an excuse when someone complains "hey, at least we're recycling hardware!" (/s also only a little)

PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago

That would imply many encryption schemes are automatically block chain. That's a flawed understanding all the way around.

Snacklive 3y ago

Fancy Linked List