Re:Blockchain Is Dangerous Nonsense
by tsimionescu on Thursday April 28, 2022 @07:16AM
(#31191149)
This is a problem of how exactly you define the word "blockchain" - you can meaningfully define it to I either include Git (as the first proposition on Wikipedia does) or to exclude it (e.g. by adding a consensus mechanism to the definition, which excludes Git but keeps Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum PoS etc).
The important thing is that the article is very clearly referencing the concept of a blockchain used as a permission-less DB, which Git clearly isn't. None of the arguments in the article apply to Git, and saying "Well, but Git is a block chain" would not make the article moot - the author at best needs to clarify that they are talking about a blockchain + consensus mechanism.
I'd also note that Git and Hg predate the first use of the term "Block chain" (2011, according to Merriam-Webster) by 6 years, and their design was in turn inspired by even older systems.
The Merkle tree or Hash tree data structure that underlies the design was invented in 1979, and also fits the definition of "block chain" on Wikipedia.
The important thing is that the article is very clearly referencing the concept of a blockchain used as a permission-less DB, which Git clearly isn't. None of the arguments in the article apply to Git, and saying "Well, but Git is a block chain" would not make the article moot - the author at best needs to clarify that they are talking about a blockchain + consensus mechanism.
I'd also note that Git and Hg predate the first use of the term "Block chain" (2011, according to Merriam-Webster) by 6 years, and their design was in turn inspired by even older systems.
The Merkle tree or Hash tree data structure that underlies the design was invented in 1979, and also fits the definition of "block chain" on Wikipedia.