Read_438 - Blockchain Proof of Work is a Decentralized Clock [grisha]

September 10, 2020 00:49:38
Read_438 - Blockchain Proof of Work is a Decentralized Clock [grisha]
Bitcoin Audible
Read_438 - Blockchain Proof of Work is a Decentralized Clock [grisha]

Sep 10 2020 | 00:49:38

/

Hosted By

Guy Swann

Show Notes

"This explanation rests on illustrating a few interesting properties of how Proof-of-Work is used in the blockchain that are not immediately obvious and sometimes are rather counter-intuitive, for example how participants collectively solve a problem without ever communicating." - grisha

While we incessantly focus on the side-effects of the proof-of-work system in Bitcoin, the security it attributes to the Bitcoin history, the incentive structure it enables, etc, we can often forget the reason Satoshi himself stated for its use: to enable a distributed timestamp server. i.e. a decentralized clock.

An epic piece from @humblehack posted back in January 2018 on his blog at grisha.org. Check out the original and many other works at the link below:
https://grisha.org/blog/2018/01/23/explaining-proof-of-work/

Other great reads to dig further into the concepts:
The Drunkard's Walk: https://amzn.to/2Mzzr2K
Fooled By Randomness: https://www.amazon.com/Fooled-Randomness-Hidden-Markets-Incerto/dp/0812975219/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=fooled+by+randomness&qid=1599781258&s=books&sr=1-1
Bitcoin Astronomy: https://anchor.fm/thecryptoconomy/episodes/CryptoQuikRead_303---Bitcoin-Astronomy-Part-1---Dhruv-Bansal-e6eqo5

Thanks to Marty & Chris from TFTC for bringing this to my attention again:
Episode 188: https://anchor.fm/tales-from-the-crypt/episodes/188-Chris-Bendiksen-ein7nj

--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bitcoinaudible/message

Other Episodes

Episode

January 06, 2022 01:35:03
Episode Cover

Guy's Take #50 - Lightning and the Web

In a follow up to the State of Lightning Report from Arcane Research and OpenNode, we dive into the possibilities for how Lightning will...

Listen

Episode

June 04, 2024 00:48:04
Episode Cover

Read_825 - Decentralization and Localized Manufacturing, Bitcoin, Ai, and 3D Printing

What if the future of decentralization lies not just in Bitcoin, but in the convergence of a multitude of different technologies that bring power...

Listen

Episode

June 15, 2023 01:11:49
Episode Cover

Read_740 - What Are the Key Properties of Bitcoin [Jameson Lopp]

"What is Bitcoin? Many have attempted to answer this question, but I believe that our quest to do so is doomed to continue in...

Listen