This isn't anything dramatically new. Essentially, there is a tension between data normalization and requirements for strong consistency. If my data is more se

This isn't anything dramatically new. Essentially, there is a tension between data normalization and requirements for strong consistency. If my data is more segmented, I can afford to be less stringent about it. I think that foregoing vector clocks in an distributed database entirely though, is a recipe for disaster, no matter how denormalized my data is.