Quote from: DooMAD on August 13, 2021, 04:34:04 PM

People sometimes mistakenly think of consensus as though it were something akin to democracy, or voting. But there are some crucial distinctions between those concepts. Voting is effectively an act of asking for permission. Your government permit you a specific date and present you with some options to choose from. Whatever the outcome of that vote, you are compelled to abide by it, even if you didn't like any of the options presented to you. The only alternatives open to you if you disagree with the outcome are campaigning for reform, leaving the region, or resorting to civil unrest and overthrowing the government. However, these all take considerable effort.

With consensus, however, it's more of an opt-in. People take part by choice. The software you run enforces the protocol rules you are willing to adhere to. You aren't asking permission from anyone, you are simply manifesting your will and enforcing rules. The consensus mechanism will then match you with others who agree with those same rules and you will build a network together. The larger the number of people in agreement, the stronger the network is and the more utility it generates. There is nothing mandating you to stay if you ever decide you no longer agree with the rules everyone else is enforcing. You can even take part in multiple networks, each with different rules. Or even create one of your very own. You are effectively free to do anything, providing you can find a sufficient number of participants to build a functioning network with.

Hi, DooMAD, you gave a very high-quality response. I am really happy to see this response. The example you gave pointed out an important feature of the consensus mechanism, which is that it does not require permission. The real consensus is not formed by coercion such as violence, law, and the military, but it really depends on everyone's free will. No permission is the best withdrawal of human free will. Each of our human individuals has free will, and we are free to make our choices. We are free to choose to join a consensus network, and if we lose confidence in it, we are also free to leave. We are also free to join multiple consensus networks at the same time.

Quote from: CryptoBuds on Today at 01:19:23 AM

Quote from: RainbowKun on August 13, 2021, 07:57:24 AM

So what exactly is consensus? Consensus mechanism is one of the core concepts of Bitcoin, only when we fully understand consensus, can we be more clear about the value that Bitcoin brings to us.
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This is my understanding of some basic concepts of consensus. What's your point?

Consensus mechanisms of Blockchain are really hard to understand for ordinary people, as well a bit longer but nice post @RainbowKun.
You know not only Bitcoin but also Consensus mechanisms are used to computers. it is fault-tolerant, which means it can respond when changes occurred, and keep the changes as a record for the future. For Bitcoin, another name of the Consensus mechanism is PoW.

Yes, it is really difficult for ordinary people to understand Bitcoin's consensus mechanism. This is an evolutionary process from quantitative change to qualitative change. As more and more people reach a consensus on Bitcoin and the idea of Bitcoin spreads further, ordinary people will gradually be able to accept Bitcoin.

Quote from: yhiaali3 on Today at 01:33:09 AM

I hope your concept of consensus is the same between Bitcoin and the human world, but I think it is very difficult, it is difficult to compare them, consensus in Bitcoin depends on mathematics and technology and there can be no difference because there are clear and fixed mathematical laws that cannot be changed, but consensus in humans is different. Exactly because it depends on the diversity of concepts and minds in humans and it is difficult for human minds to meet on one concept for anything in this life.
For example, can there be human consensus on the fair distribution of wealth among the inhabitants of the Earth? Will the rich be satisfied with distributing their wealth equally to the poor? I doubt that this consensus will ever happen!!!

Yes, your summary is great. You clearly pointed out the difference between the existing consensus of mankind and the consensus of Bitcoin. The current consensus of mankind depends on the diversity of people's concepts and thoughts. Therefore, human consensus is not strong, probably because of human sensibility and breakdown. However, the consensus of Bitcoin is based on mathematical algorithms and is not based on human will. Now we are migrating to the machine trust of Bitcoin, so that it is possible to create a truly fair, open, equal, free, trusting, and beautiful society. This process must be very long, but I believe it will come.