Blockchain as a Microcosm of Conscious Reality

Consensus is not just a buzzword within the world of blockchain, it’s central to how we perceive reality. To illustrate some of the similarities between how a blockchain works and how we create and experience reality, I’ll need to lay a brief foundation in quantum physics.

The reality we live in is governed by observational consensus. Not in the sense that you yourself create your own reality (or at least not entirely), but more that the collective consciousness is observing the foundational units of physical reality, called “quanta”, in specific states. As these observations are made, these states essentially become set in stone, making them measurable and definite.

One of the stranger aspects of quantum mechanics (and there are plenty of these) is that quanta are not discrete units until observed, but rather waves. This concept is called “duality”, and basically means that quanta are generalists and specialists at the same time. Think of this example: you’re hired to do a job with a very broad spectrum of duties. Before you start the job, you’re not quite sure what you’re going to be working on, but you know it’s going to be something on that list of duties — this is a very crude analogy for you existing as a generalist wave, rather than a specialist particle — you’re all potential. Now let’s fast forward to your first day at work. Something goes wrong and it turns out that your skills are already handy! Lucky you, right? Well as soon as you help with that particular problem, you are no longer a generalist in the eyes of your coworkers, you are a specialist that they know to solve a specific type of problem. Your generalist potential collapses, and your colleagues see you as the guy who can write Excel macros.

Now let’s break down what’s going on here… You are naturally a generalist, and that doesn’t change, however in that moment that you completed a specific task, you became a specialist. This doesn’t mean that you can’t return to being a generalist — in fact, you immediately return to that state — but it does mean that in that particular instance, you were observed to be a specialist and not a generalist. You were measured and recorded to be something specific. This is the way that quanta such as light behave in quantum mechanics. The light will exist as a general wave, with the potential to wash over any part of the system until it is observed — at that point it is forced to take on the role of a specific particle, securing a position in a particular place and time, interacting with the system in a measurable way. This is called “collapsing the wave function” and you should definitely dive deeper when given the chance (this is a good place to start… https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-mean-to-say-a-wave-function-collapses). The important takeaway here is that when measured in a particular particle state, that quanta or photon of light is essentially permanently recorded in that state and that event becomes an irrevocably accepted chapter in the history of our physical reality. In addition, that chapter will play a role in shaping the constraints of all subsequent chapters, meaning reality compounds on itself using these records.

My point in outlining the basics of quantum mechanics is to draw parallels in the world of consensus computing technologies such as distributed ledgers, blockchain, and consensus graphs. The similarities here are intriguing because they potentially point to how the future of these technologies might function. Before we get there, I’m going to translate the wave function to the blockchain/DLT world, and for simplicity’s sake, I’m going to talk about the Bitcoin blockchain.

If I want to transact in Bitcoin, the first question is where the currency can be moved to? Am I restricted to certain wallet addresses within the system, or do I possess the potential to interact with any wallet address I desire? In this case, I can send funds to any wallet I choose. At this point, think of my wallet as a source of light emitting a particle-wave. The wallet has a relationship to all other wallets, but no defined interaction with any of them yet. Next, I decide I want to send funds to my best friend’s wallet address. When I do this, a few things come into play:

• First, the blockchain needs to verify that I have the funds to do so. This is done by taking a look at the entire blockchain history to this point and calculating how much currency I could possibly have given that history of past transactions. As I mentioned, quantum mechanics compounds on itself and in this example, the blockchain is creating the same constraints for me to determine the validity of my new transaction.
• Second, I need to complete the transaction, which will indicate where my funds will go. This indication provides the network with the specifics needed to create the transaction that the network will need to witness and confirm.
• Third, the network will witness (or observe) the transaction, and after determining it to be valid, will create an immutable record on the blockchain for reference. This record, along with all other records like it that have been initiated over a given time horizon, are included in a block of transactions. This block of transactions retains a signature, as well as the signature of the previous block. This is analogous to the compounding effect I mentioned in our quantum mechanics example earlier.
• Fourth, the new block that has been created is broadcasted across the entire network, reconciling the generally accepted master record for the full blockchain. All future transactions are validated versus the consensus record in this repetitive process.

As you can see, transaction consensus across nodes through measurement on a blockchain works very similarly to the physical interaction of quanta in our observable universe.

What interests me the most about these parallels is the possibility that blockchain may be used to create predictive models of known systems. A good example of this might be combining blockchain style networks to quantum computing or annealing systems to progressively and dynamically constrain and evolve different particles or “actors” within complex simulations. The possibilities are staggering when you consider the incorporation of artificial intelligence and machine learning into the equation. Not only could we simulate and predict different outcomes with startling accuracy, but an AI could continue to test different configurations of the same system, looking for an increasingly optimal solution.

We are just scratching the surface with technologies like blockchain, AI/machine learning, quantum annealing/computing, etc… But it’s critical that we recognize these as what I like to think of as convergent technologies. Technologies in which the sum of what they might accomplish in concert is greater than that of their individual capabilities. Throw robotics/drones and 3D printing into the mix and we have a future where nearly any issue facing mankind can be tackled. The other side to this is obviously a discussion on ethics and regulation, but that’s worth another article of it’s own.

Needless to say, I’m pretty pumped to see where these incredible technologies take us, and I hope you are too. It’s important to look at all of these innovations as pieces to a great puzzle, rather than more trivial, standalone products.

I would love to hear from you folks on where you think all of this is headed. Thanks for reading!