Blockchain...
 

anyone understand it?

I don't even understand your question.

i think the answer is: 12.7

Are you sure its not 42?

Yup.

Intense repetitive computation of algorithms against data to produce an un-alterable-after-the-fact ledger of transactions, all decentralized and can be done peer-2-peer (like the *coin stuff) or on a distributed cluster (think a record of stock trades/buys/sells/etc).

Basically the first piece of data is used to create a hash of some type (math operation the data, can take extremely long to calculate. Same technology is used to securely store passwords. With a good enough hash, any data that has a matching hash is also the same data - and no other data will match.

The next transaction logged uses the hash the first transaction calculated as "salt" for its hash - ie, it is added to the data to make it impossible to generate all possible data combinations and then just search for a matching hash to find out the original data (rainbow table - these exist for password attacks, etc).

The third transaction (or Nth) uses the hash the second data (or N-1th) to salt itself and compute its hash, and then N+1 uses that hash to salt itself and so on.

Change any record, and NONE of the other records stay the same.

Only if we are working in base13



And to continue my previous post, no, I don't understand the math behind the hash - that is pure computer science and some high end math. But given a hash algorithm to use I can implement code to create a block chain, store passwords securely, etc

Good article, thanks!

It’s all about the kitties.

or the punks...

"I may be a sorry case, but I don't write jokes in base 13." - Adams

There is a hidden joke, but its not base 13.

It's the future....

I believe your right...

It might be somebody's future, but not mine.

I understand the importance of a ledger and how it is a fundamental building block upon which virtually all commerce rests. But I cannot, after reading dozens of articles on the subject, understand how a blockchain works. I honestly do not fully comprehend what an algorithm is or what a hash is in any concrete way. I would imagine those are the underpinnings of a blockchain and perhaps I should start there and work up to an understanding of blockchain.

I feel like we are on the edge of a discovery that will mark a fundamental change in humanity. It is all at once exciting and terrifying. Like taking the men out of the missile silos, I fear that the blockchain moves us one step closer to Skynet becoming self aware. Math replaces human regulation.

If you will humor me with what is probably a dumb question. All this decentralized computing is enabled by the fact that the computer owners are rewarded with whatever curency for doing the heavy lifting. This is the mining process as I understand it. Does this create an issue when we are closer to the fundamental limitation on number of coins and nobody is willing to support the computing costs for the last few coins?

for a block chain thing about cooking from straight run gradient you make a dish like coq a vjin with wine but you're starting with the grapes and going all the way from scratch. if something screws up along the way then you know it's broken so if the instead of wine you got vinegar when you had a cup of it to your coq you know that somethings wrong and you can instantly detect something was altered.

algorithms simply take input, do something and return output.

Think about converting Fahrenheit to Celsius or Celsius to Fahrenheit that would be an example of a basic algorithm. not all algorithms are reversable.

a hash is a complex mathematical operation that one performed on a bit of data will always give back that same hash for the same bit of data. usually they are one away so if you have a hash you can't figure out what data it represents even if you know the algorithm that was used

quite possibly really don't know what gives the coins any value overall you can't use the hash is it generates or anything else for any other real purpose

other forms of distributed computing like seti at home or genome at home have social benefit for the world and for humanity in general so there's some altruistic reasons to assist with those distributed computing projects