ahdinosaur · February 3, 2016 03:54
diff --git a/log.txt b/log.txt
 15:54] 
 Gina Rembe dear universe, I’m keen to learn more about Blockchain… what are your favourite articles or videos? Wikipedia is failing me with too much tech language.
 [16:19] 
 Mikey Williams @gina: what in particular are you interested in learning about, or why? "Blockchain" is a buzzword similar to "Cloud", it's become a catch-all term for fuzzily related ideas, initially based on deeply technical concepts. in my opinion a blockchain is a particular type of database based on "public-key cryptography" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography), "content-addressable storage" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content-addressable_storage) (often as a "merkle tree" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkle_tree)) , and "kappa architecture" (http://www.confluent.io/blog/turning-the-database-inside-out-with-apache-samza/). it's usually often in reference to computable contracts, distributed consensus, and continuous economic growth. maybe @mix can be more helpful, i'm too technical by nature.(edited)
 [16:22] 
 Gina Rembe @ahdinosaur: I think I’ve heard it flying around enough to feel like I should really know something more about it… trying to read up about it seems to be resulting in largely technical concepts & protocols that are over my head. So I think I’m after the real-world application and implications — how would one use it, when and why, to what end, in which situations? I’ll have a go at your links, thank you.
 [16:30] 
 Mikey Williams @gina: use cases where you might want a "blockchain" database: when you need a historical log of what database updates occurred in what order (for Bitcoin there is one global database of financial transactions, for Patchwork each user has their own database of messages), when you need every update to be auditable (who made the update, when did they make the update), when you want your database to be cryptographically verifiable (has this database been tampered with), and when you want to be hip.(edited)
 [16:31] 
 James Kiesel I googled ‘blockchain for dummies’ and found this, which leaves a lot out but is a decent starting point:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ycJfp6-6Is
 YouTube
 Lesley Taihitu
 Blockchain for dummies
  

 [16:31] 
 Gina Rembe go on @james.kiesel I can see you thinking
 [16:31] 
 hehe thank you
 [16:32] 
 James Kiesel I think a big part of the practical implications are around that ‘trust’ concept… we’re able to verify that something is correct because there are lots of copies of it, and that if one of those copies is different than the others, it’s probably wrong / fraudulent.
 [16:33] 
 Rather than if someone breaks into the Loomio database, changes your comment to say ‘All Hail Trump’, and you not being able to prove that you didn’t actually type that.
 3  

 [16:41] 
 Mikey Williams from my Github stars, here's someone writing sci-fi about their view of "blockchains": https://github.com/simondlr/computingcommons/blob/master/manuscript/rise_of_the_commons.md

 GitHub
 simondlr/computingcommons
 computingcommons - A book on imagining the future of society empowered through blockchain technology.

 [16:41] 
 Gina Rembe aha so you sorta need to get consent by being trustworthy to change something and have the social capital to convince others that it’s a good idea, but in a decentralised group?
 [16:43] 
 Mikey Williams it's more that you can do something and everyone knows _with certainty_ that you did it. also you can't change the past, only do new things.(edited)
 [16:44] 
 Gina Rembe so you’d only do it if you were certain it was a good move
 [16:46] 
 Mikey Williams yes. @dominictarr is convinced that this breaks the current dominant perspective of game theory (for example, "The Prisoner's Dilemma"): if everyone knew _with certainty_ everything you did, it makes much more logical sense to do good because anyone would know if you ever did bad, you can't enter into a situation with a blank slate.(edited)
	15:54]
	Gina Rembe dear universe, I’m keen to learn more about Blockchain… what are your favourite articles or videos? Wikipedia is failing me with too much tech language.
	[16:19]
	Mikey Williams @gina: what in particular are you interested in learning about, or why? "Blockchain" is a buzzword similar to "Cloud", it's become a catch-all term for fuzzily related ideas, initially based on deeply technical concepts. in my opinion a blockchain is a particular type of database based on "public-key cryptography" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography), "content-addressable storage" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content-addressable_storage) (often as a "merkle tree" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkle_tree)) , and "kappa architecture" (http://www.confluent.io/blog/turning-the-database-inside-out-with-apache-samza/). it's usually often in reference to computable contracts, distributed consensus, and continuous economic growth. maybe @mix can be more helpful, i'm too technical by nature.(edited)
	[16:22]
	Gina Rembe @ahdinosaur: I think I’ve heard it flying around enough to feel like I should really know something more about it… trying to read up about it seems to be resulting in largely technical concepts & protocols that are over my head. So I think I’m after the real-world application and implications — how would one use it, when and why, to what end, in which situations? I’ll have a go at your links, thank you.
	[16:30]
	Mikey Williams @gina: use cases where you might want a "blockchain" database: when you need a historical log of what database updates occurred in what order (for Bitcoin there is one global database of financial transactions, for Patchwork each user has their own database of messages), when you need every update to be auditable (who made the update, when did they make the update), when you want your database to be cryptographically verifiable (has this database been tampered with), and when you want to be hip.(edited)
	[16:31]
	James Kiesel I googled ‘blockchain for dummies’ and found this, which leaves a lot out but is a decent starting point:
	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ycJfp6-6Is
	YouTube
	Lesley Taihitu
	Blockchain for dummies


	[16:31]
	Gina Rembe go on @james.kiesel I can see you thinking
	[16:31]
	hehe thank you
	[16:32]
	James Kiesel I think a big part of the practical implications are around that ‘trust’ concept… we’re able to verify that something is correct because there are lots of copies of it, and that if one of those copies is different than the others, it’s probably wrong / fraudulent.
	[16:33]
	Rather than if someone breaks into the Loomio database, changes your comment to say ‘All Hail Trump’, and you not being able to prove that you didn’t actually type that.
	3

	[16:41]
	Mikey Williams from my Github stars, here's someone writing sci-fi about their view of "blockchains": https://github.com/simondlr/computingcommons/blob/master/manuscript/rise_of_the_commons.md

	GitHub
	simondlr/computingcommons
	computingcommons - A book on imagining the future of society empowered through blockchain technology.

	[16:41]
	Gina Rembe aha so you sorta need to get consent by being trustworthy to change something and have the social capital to convince others that it’s a good idea, but in a decentralised group?
	[16:43]
	Mikey Williams it's more that you can do something and everyone knows _with certainty_ that you did it. also you can't change the past, only do new things.(edited)
	[16:44]
	Gina Rembe so you’d only do it if you were certain it was a good move
	[16:46]
	Mikey Williams yes. @dominictarr is convinced that this breaks the current dominant perspective of game theory (for example, "The Prisoner's Dilemma"): if everyone knew _with certainty_ everything you did, it makes much more logical sense to do good because anyone would know if you ever did bad, you can't enter into a situation with a blank slate.(edited)