tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post7200624861833394946..comments2024-03-28T03:38:53.734-07:00Comments on MacroMania: Why the Blockchain should be familiar to youDavid Andolfattohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12138572028306561024noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-11668860404621771892017-06-20T01:06:30.808-07:002017-06-20T01:06:30.808-07:00Blockchain is a distributed database that is used ...Blockchain is a distributed database that is used to maintain a continuously growing list of records, called blocks. Every block contains a timestamp and a link to previous block. A full copy of a currency's <a href="https://www.draglet.com/" rel="nofollow">blockchain</a> contains every transaction ever executed in the currency. By this, one can find out how much value belonged to each address at any point in history. The chains of block connected through blocks linked together. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-37692884799346368752016-05-11T03:45:28.714-07:002016-05-11T03:45:28.714-07:00Great analogy to show that the concept is "ol...Great analogy to show that the concept is "old" but the implementation is new and more effective. I think as human beings we are more "conservative" because of the "unknown" variable. Once though this variable is identified, explained, and perhaps measured we as a species tend to embrace the "new" norm very fast. I think your post adds to that. ThanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-57572114872384470242016-05-07T06:49:22.598-07:002016-05-07T06:49:22.598-07:00That's a good point, Mike. And one that I'...That's a good point, Mike. And one that I've thought about. It's clear that histories *can* be fabricated. Just look at N. Korea. I mean, just look at what happens when a society's consensus algorithm agrees on a falsehood that is economically harmful. My view is that Darwin is likely to take care of such mechanisms, in the long run, though obviously they can still coexist in small numbers.David Andolfattohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12138572028306561024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-43053004362714343302016-05-07T05:20:49.406-07:002016-05-07T05:20:49.406-07:00Your analogy breaks down in the face of Holocaust ...Your analogy breaks down in the face of Holocaust denialism, moon walk denialism, Armenian genocide denialism, and a host of other conspiracy theory examples. Considerind that those examples don't offer much opportunity for profit, unlike blockchain, I'd imagine blockchain could easily be gamed by wealthy enough players.Mike Hubenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01371469964446567690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-36274711973816583132016-05-06T19:18:03.338-07:002016-05-06T19:18:03.338-07:00Yes, the proof relies on the chain being unbroken ...Yes, the proof relies on the chain being unbroken back to the original event which was part of the argument.<br />I always found the most persuasive evidence for God's existence (along the lines of the sly claim that evil is the root of all money) that God must exist, as man created him in his own image.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15136541075745913165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-31609471972454115452016-05-06T17:32:54.327-07:002016-05-06T17:32:54.327-07:00If Blockchain technology is effective then Chinese...If Blockchain technology is effective then Chinese whispers will no longer be fun.<br /><br />HenryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-83143364243396590602016-05-06T13:16:37.897-07:002016-05-06T13:16:37.897-07:00Sorry, the blockchain video made no sense to me. I...Sorry, the blockchain video made no sense to me. I don't mean mixing up left and right, which happened early and is a common mistake. In the chain each person told one person in the chain their favorite color. Then they broke the chain and mingled at random, observing the favorite color of the person they spoke to. Later it was claimed that it would be difficult for one person who changed their color preference to make that information widely known. That is true, but it is a result of mingling with a lot of people, not the result of having a chain of information. You can leave the blockchain out of the story entirely and reach the same conclusion. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-21794808662460284752016-05-06T08:18:37.793-07:002016-05-06T08:18:37.793-07:00Hi Dan, thanks!
On the God proof, maybe not. For ...Hi Dan, thanks!<br /><br />On the God proof, maybe not. For sure it proves that someone wrote down "I saw God" long ago, and that the history of that statement has been passed down through the ages. <br /><br />But we can't tell if the Genesis block corresponds to reality or whether, for example, it was invented for political purposes.David Andolfattohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12138572028306561024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-12716165698645637262016-05-06T07:13:04.953-07:002016-05-06T07:13:04.953-07:00This is a terrific analogy. If you are right that ...This is a terrific analogy. If you are right that this is the concept, you've nailed an intuitive and incredibly helpful description for Blockchain. <br /><br />JKH raises a very good point, but its a slightly different problem. He's right once you understand the idea behind Blockchain, you do have to understand how you apply it in the real world.<br /><br />Funny story:<br />Blockchain was used on me as proof that God exists. This was 20 odd years ago when some more saintly adult than I have become still held out hope for me.<br />Proof that God exists? Well as he told me, all the Israelites saw God hand down the commandments to Moses, you can't change the individual memory of the entire Israelite population, therefore god must exist.<br /><br /><br />Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15136541075745913165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-91936009666969085982016-05-06T06:47:33.897-07:002016-05-06T06:47:33.897-07:00I should point out that states have adopted laws t...I should point out that states have adopted laws that limit how far back in time one can go in the blockchain to challenge "title", another form of government regulation that is designed to add more certainty to real estate ownership. Law professors who teach property law love complicated cases involving the blockchain, in my state going back to the Spanish land grant. raywardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03723450690502187828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-84038317450452676062016-05-06T06:14:14.556-07:002016-05-06T06:14:14.556-07:00Excellent question.Excellent question.David Andolfattohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12138572028306561024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-84387977869987715962016-05-06T06:13:19.155-07:002016-05-06T06:13:19.155-07:00JKH, once you discover a more meaningful and pragm...JKH, once you discover a more meaningful and pragmatic way of getting at this subject, please let me know! Thanks for your thoughtful comment.David Andolfattohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12138572028306561024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-51737668071856825492016-05-06T06:09:15.855-07:002016-05-06T06:09:15.855-07:00Well, a blockchain in the form of Bitcoin does aff...Well, a blockchain in the form of Bitcoin does afford some degree of privacy, as the "accounts" correspond to something akin to a PO box (with no visible personal identity). But there are other variations, e.g., permissioned blockchains with a few trusted validators, etc.David Andolfattohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12138572028306561024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-32085295049651298122016-05-06T05:38:33.359-07:002016-05-06T05:38:33.359-07:00The reference to the blockchain for real estate is...The reference to the blockchain for real estate is helpful. One doesn't actually acquire "title" to a parcel of real estate: she may have evidence of title as reflected in the public records (the blockchain of transfers of the parcel), but not "title" in the sense of an uncontestible piece of paper that's "title". When I first practiced law, the convention in my county was for a lawyer to issue an opinion as to title (rather than for an insurance company to insure title). The lawyer can be sued if she is wrong, but what is she has no assets (or is dead or moved away). By comparison, a title insurance company, regulated by the state, must have sufficient assets to pay claims in case it is wrong about "title". Since the convention across the country is for title insurance (rather than lawyer's opinions), buyer's of real estate believe they are obtaining "title" when in fact they aren't. My question for Bitcoin (or other private, unregulated blockchains): who stands behind the blockchain if it's wrong? raywardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03723450690502187828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-89747770340046364362016-05-06T02:58:35.358-07:002016-05-06T02:58:35.358-07:00I respect your effort, but you asked for feedback,...I respect your effort, but you asked for feedback, so I have to say honestly that I did not find this useful. I'll quickly qualify that by saying that I've found nothing yet that I've read anywhere that I find particularly useful about the subject.<br /><br />I know why this is the case - in my case at least.<br /><br />It is obvious that block chain is making a big splash in its intersection with the possible future for banking. Banks are studying it closely - and I guess investing in it one way or another.<br /><br />Because of that, there is a big intersection with the possible future for both monetary policy and banking.<br /><br />What I found in the early days of these discussions is considerable conflation of the ideas of bitcoin and block chain - and how each of these separate things (although connected at points) intersect with the future of banking and the future of monetary policy. E.g. I see no evidence that bitcoin enthusiasts know much about banking or monetary policy.<br /><br />What is problematic more generally is that very few interested people have a sufficient understanding of how banks actually work. I won't expand on that here, but I hope you can appreciate that academic theories or even academic descriptions of banking are not the same as real world practice of banking. These are two different things undertaken by two different groups of human beings. This is not an insult. One shouldn't expect them to be the same, whatever the insights of the academic non-practitioners, given that they don't work in banks. For example, Diamond-Dybvig provides very little practical insight as to how banks actually manage liquidity risk.<br /><br />And this probably applies to how banks function according to how they organize information.<br /><br />So far, I've seen nothing written about block chain that convinces me that the writer has formed a meaningful connection between how banks and monetary policy work today, and how that practice may change under block chain.<br /><br />I fully expect that monetary policy and banking will be an eventual constraint on block chain evolution - not the other way around. The banks know this, which is why they're on top of it.<br /><br />So I'm sorry to say that so far I see only trivial, somewhat childish play models about "the idea" of block chain.<br /> <br />There must be a more meaningful, pragmatic way of getting at this subject.JKHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06322177539880818556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-60044848489097267582016-05-06T02:28:19.943-07:002016-05-06T02:28:19.943-07:00Hi David
You suggest "secure", i assume...Hi David<br /><br />You suggest "secure", i assume, in the context that the data is unlikely to get destroyed/ erased.<br /><br />But what about security in the context of privacy?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09001425753357281327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-91640881680576310972016-05-05T20:07:34.012-07:002016-05-05T20:07:34.012-07:00I am not suggesting that it is just about digitizi...I am not suggesting that it is just about digitizing records, but rather than that the records are part of a decentralized, distributed network at the community (county) level that functions at the national level as a repository of trust. While the physical records are maintained and supervised by the registrar of deeds, the trust arises from the public availability of the records and their constant use by members of the community in exchanging property on a regular basis based on confidence in property ownership. Now these records can be accessed through a network of servers containing the information from anywhere online, but that does not change the decentralized, distributed nature of the process at the community (county) level. It increases convenience while relying on local trust in an established process. Not blockchain perhaps, but a precedent wrt to community-based trust that is analogous.Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-6908003741248313532016-05-05T18:28:48.330-07:002016-05-05T18:28:48.330-07:00Well, blockchain is, I think, more than just digit...Well, blockchain is, I think, more than just digitized records. Usually it is associated with decentralized (distributed) record-keeping responsibilities too. David Andolfattohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12138572028306561024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-82551761964196282392016-05-05T18:27:34.316-07:002016-05-05T18:27:34.316-07:00The answer is as follows. Neither system dominates...The answer is as follows. Neither system dominates, as is evidenced by the fact that the two have coexisted for a long time. Decentralized is probably more secure in many cases, centralized likely has lower operating costs. Technology changes the relative benefits of the two systems. But they will likely always coexist, with each serving a need for which is well suited.David Andolfattohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12138572028306561024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-36385038099658750042016-05-05T17:16:18.440-07:002016-05-05T17:16:18.440-07:00In the US anyway, the register of deeds is kept at...In the US anyway, the register of deeds is kept at the county level. Anyone can search the record of transfer of ownership to determine whether the title is free and clear. <br /><br />The record of transfer of title of vehicles is maintained at the state level. It's now possible to search transfer of ownership nationally using the VIN (vehicle identification number) online.<br /><br />Land records are now also being digitized and made available for online search often at the state level, but the responsibility for maintenance of the records remains at the county level. This is a pretty distributed, decentralized system at least in the US, and the level of trust is very high since lawyers experienced in real estate are generally involved.<br /><br />Digitization of records will mean that anyone can access the registry from anywhere at anytime instead of having to go physically to the country registrars office, or have someone do it. For transfer of title, a title search is usually implied in the process to ensure an unclouded title.<br /><br />Examples like this reveal that we are already doing "blockchain" and have been for a long time. Now that is being digitized. Nothing to be concerned about was long as the system is secure. But we already trust the security of electronically processed credit cards and online banking.Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-49218537832478238662016-05-05T15:49:20.726-07:002016-05-05T15:49:20.726-07:00Nice user friendly explanation. Thanks.
But the q...Nice user friendly explanation. Thanks.<br /><br />But the question remains, why is decentralized computational trust better than centralized trust?<br /><br />What is the business opportunity that entrepreneurs see in a decentralized trust system?<br /><br />Is that something we should be concerned with? (There have been several business failures already.)<br /><br />Is decentralized trust being driven by commercial opportunity or by sound public policy?<br /><br />HenryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-82554214959904980402016-05-05T13:18:45.384-07:002016-05-05T13:18:45.384-07:00Thank you, Tom.Thank you, Tom.David Andolfattohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12138572028306561024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-62402487269730502032016-05-05T13:18:33.268-07:002016-05-05T13:18:33.268-07:00You're welcome, Ralph!
You don't like co...You're welcome, Ralph! <br /><br />You don't like cocktail parties? :)David Andolfattohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12138572028306561024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-22931081429665287902016-05-05T13:15:40.749-07:002016-05-05T13:15:40.749-07:00Nick, I have a severe doubt that Yap stones circul...Nick, I have a severe doubt that Yap stones circulated as a common exchange medium in any meaningful sense. The Yapese likely relied on gift-giving principles; the stones were likely used for ceremonial purposes (that could have be related to certain types of exchanges). <br /><br />Wasn't aware of the dog story. The UK land registry sounds like a good example. Indeed, the new technology is targeted to make that record-keeping system more efficient. http://chromaway.com/papers/A-blockchain-based-property-registry.pdfDavid Andolfattohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12138572028306561024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8702840202604739302.post-9112330842888770362016-05-05T09:40:44.003-07:002016-05-05T09:40:44.003-07:00Excellent and important. I linked to it at Mike No...Excellent and important. I linked to it at Mike Norman Economics.Tom Hickeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08454222098667643650noreply@blogger.com