[LINK] Blockchain's time is nearly up

[Tom Worthington]

On 16/2/19 10:11 pm, Roger Clarke wrote:

> The blockchain ... is mystical. It is promoted by means of invocation
> of ideas in good standing that have very tenuous connections with the
> notion and the technology. ...

You could say the same about "Linux", "The Internet" and "The Web". But 
these crazy ideas turned out to be useful.

As Steve Wilson points out, a Blockchain is not about trust: it is
about doing business with people you *don't trust*. That is not a flaw,
that is the point.

Blockchain has been hyped, not helped by its connection to Bitcoin and
the Silk Road. But then I remember we had to explain to a Senate
committee that the Internet was not just for distributing
pornography.

Blockchain could be useful for some applications, but just some.

ps: I am a member of the ACS Blockchain Technical committee. Some recent 
reports released by ACS touching on Blockchain:

* Blockchain Innovation, by IP Australia, 2018 URL 
https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-publications/ACS%20Blockchain%20Report.pdf

* Australia’s Digital Pulse: Driving Australia’s international ICT 
competitiveness and digital growth, Deloitte Access Economics, 2018 UTL 
https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-publications/aadp2018.pdf


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Tom Worthington, MEd FHEA FACS CP http://www.tomw.net.au +61(0)419496150
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Honorary Lecturer, Computer Science, Australian National University
https://cecs.anu.edu.au/research/profile/tom-worthington