So you wanna know how Blockchains, commence reading

The concept of blockchain is a complicated one, but in actually fact can be broken down into smaller easy to digest concepts.

Here is my attempt at explaining the blockchain for the laymen.

Image you are uploading content onto a server and all that content resides in a central point, say that one server. This is what we call centralized and the old paradigm of storing data. Also, if you switch off the server, delete the data form the system the data is no longer is accessible. Lets take that one step further, lets say there is some data on that server the government does not want you to see or it violates some sort of government classification, like top secret. The server can be easily taken down given the first two approaches : delete or server take down.

Given the advent of blockchain you could store that data all over the internet on every machine. further to this the information is stored and retrieved in blocks that can only be arranged in a particular sequence, kind of like making lego.

If you wanted to take this system down you would have to find every machine and turn if off or delete its hard drive. This is the beauty of distributed systems. There is no central location to turn it off. This is super scaredy for a government trying to suppress information or a company trying to control content or a special interest group. This technology makes the many more powerful then the wealthy few.

Now lets take this one step further, so the block chain stores data across multiple machines and is decentralized, well how does data get into it. Each node stores all the content and account details, such as money and Steem Power. Now think of the block chain as a harddrive that can never be tampered with and overtime information is stored it has to be check amongst others. So If you post on the block chain a checks between a large majority of nodes is performed and the question asked to the all the nodes is: do you agree or disagree. If enough nodes agree then the information gets committed to the block chain. If they disagree then no new information goes up on the block chain and its like nothing happened. This keep the block chain from being damaged or corrupted and further to this you can not undo old info in the block chain , but you can only add to it.

Why is the block chain so amazing? Once information goes up on the block chain you can not undo it. What does that mean. Imagine Wikileaks starts posting on the block chain. The information is there forever and you can not remove it. So today no hacker or person has a soltuaiton to reverse the block chain so beware what you write or what you put up. It could haunt you. lol. To add to the mess no one person could be really be chased. If Wikileaks had setup using the blockchain then julian assange, would not have been in a predicament and no one could be chased.

Who knows, one day somebody may post the photos of Who Killed John F Kennedy on the block chain and it will be there forever. I can't wait to see what comes of the blockchain and especially STEEMIT.