3 ms·

Perhaps I'm wrong, but the simplest explanation of Ethereum appears to be that it's a way of specifying and sharing contracts. I think the whole digital curren

Perhaps I'm wrong, but the simplest explanation of Ethereum appears to be that it's a way of specifying and sharing contracts. I think the whole digital currency thing muddies the waters. People, myself included, hear the word currency and think of something we earn and spend, but then you hear about all the other uses of Ethereum and wonder what that has to do with money. What I've just realised by reading this article is that contracts are what Ethereum is all about, the currency aspect is just one of the many use cases. Laws are another example of a contract. The base class is contracts, everything else is a subclass on top of that.

iMark 11y ago
What's a contract? (Playing devil's advocate a little) (edit: for the sake of pedantry, assume I did indeed mean contract)
- ZenoArrow 11y ago
  Assuming you meant contract, I'd say it was a formal agreement between two or more parties. Will that do?
  - iMark 11y ago
    Not really, no. I actually have a decent understanding of what's involved regarding Ethereum, but assume for a moment that I don't. Statements like "a formal agreement between two or more parties" are of little use to someone starting from ground zero.
    - ZenoArrow 11y ago
      I can try to put it in plain English if you think it'll be confusing to a newcomer. Before I try, let's explore how Ethereum is described by those who develop it. The home page seems as good a place as any. https://www.ethereum.org/ https://www.ethereum.org/ Here's what the first paragraph on the homepage describes Ethereum as... "Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference." So even the Ethereum developers describe the core use as contracts. It doesn't strike me as a controversial idea. How would you describe Ethereum?

iMark 11y ago

What's a contract? (Playing devil's advocate a little) (edit: for the sake of pedantry, assume I did indeed mean contract)

ZenoArrow 11y ago
Assuming you meant contract, I'd say it was a formal agreement between two or more parties. Will that do?
- iMark 11y ago
  Not really, no. I actually have a decent understanding of what's involved regarding Ethereum, but assume for a moment that I don't. Statements like "a formal agreement between two or more parties" are of little use to someone starting from ground zero.
  - ZenoArrow 11y ago
    I can try to put it in plain English if you think it'll be confusing to a newcomer. Before I try, let's explore how Ethereum is described by those who develop it. The home page seems as good a place as any. https://www.ethereum.org/ https://www.ethereum.org/ Here's what the first paragraph on the homepage describes Ethereum as... "Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs smart contracts: applications that run exactly as programmed without any possibility of downtime, censorship, fraud or third party interference." So even the Ethereum developers describe the core use as contracts. It doesn't strike me as a controversial idea. How would you describe Ethereum?