Blockchain, Decentralization and Block Explorer - Steemit Crypto Academy Season 4 - Homework Post for Task 3 by @swaylee

Good day family, I have another post for you all. Here I would be discussing on the topic: Blockchain, Decentralization and Block Explorer.

(2) Define decentralization. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of a decentralized system. In what areas of life can a decentralized blockchain be helpful? (write in own words).

These are the questions in particular I would be focusing on in this post. As you can see above, this post is centered mainly on decentralization. I'm sure some of us must have come across the word "Decentralization" without really knowing what it is. Here we would be looking at it's meaning, merits and demerits and what it can help us achieve in life. Let's get started. shall we?

Define Decentralization

Decentralization in a normal setting is a situation when there is a transfer of power and authority from a central body to it's subordinates. This definition fairly applies to the Crypto space where decentralization is seen as the empowerment of its users to make their own decisions on the blockchain without being under the influence of a centralized authority. If you have been in the Crypto space for a little while, you would have come in contact with various Decentralized apps (dApps) which by name are decentralized. These dApps are free from government intervention and any other third party authority, you make your own decisions on these apps and they are widely used in the Crypto space.

But don't get me wrong not all cryptocurrency related apps are decentralized. Binance and coinbase for example are centralized but if you are looking for decentralized apps or platforms then you can look at Steemit, PancakeSwap and uniswap. Decentralized systems don't only occur in the Crypto space but in so many aspects of life from government, to schools, to banks, even in the family.

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of a decentralized system.

Everything good also has its downsides, in as much as there are alot of awesome aspects of decentralization, it also has its shortcomings and demerits so we would be carefully looking at these good and bad sides of a decentralized system.

Advantages of a Decentralized System

• Helps users make their own decisions: In a normal scenario, users would fully depend on the central authority and don't really have a say when things don't go their way but with the advent of decentralization, people get to decide what they want by themselves and without force.

• Reduction in fraudulent and corruption activities: I can't say a decentralized system stops fraud because it's part of human nature but it reduces it to the bearest minimum because no one has control over your account to be able to siphon your funds through corrupt means and since the system is transparent everyone can see the transactions made.

• Independence: There is no dependence on a central body so people get to develop their own decision making skills and stay independent of one another. They are not under any external or third party control so traders can perform transactions without any restriction.

• Transparency: There is little or no censorship of transactions carried out in decentralized systems. No falsification of transactions as all details of the transactions are made available to everyone. Decentralized Systems in Crypto make use of blockchain technology which records every single transaction carried out on the platform so it can't be forged.

• Failure of one unit won't necessarily affect the operation of other units: Let me make us of centralized apps and decentralized apps. In a centralized app or platform, If there is any system failure on the part of the central authority there would be a breakdown in the whole system. One of the reasons why you see apps going on maintenance breaks. Just the other day Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were down for several hours but Steemit has been going on since and we haven't seen any system failure. In a decentralized system, if one unit has a fault the platform/app would still continue because there is no dependence of one system on another.

Disadvantages of a decentralized system

• They are usually difficult to operate: This occurs mainly in decentralized apps and platforms. They don't have a user friendly interface so if a newbie is to be brought into the system, without knowing what to do he/she can make costly and frustrating mistakes.

• Mistakes are irreversible: when a user sends funds to the wrong account, there is no way of reversing it and therefore one can lose his/her funds permanently. For example, I sent money to roqqu without including my public memo and I lost the money. If it were to be a centralized exchange or platform, I could easily make a complaint and the money can be reversed or sent back to my account.

• The system is expensive, complicated and hard to launch: A large amount of time, skilled individuals and funds is needed to create and launch a decentralized system as they will be large scale programming and calculation. Blockchain technology is not an easy one.

• Misuse of funds and account: Since there are is no central authority to check the activities of users. Some users would misuse their funds while some would make use of their accounts for fraudulent activities. For example on Steemit, some people comment under posts with phishy links which can hack into your account by merely clicking on the link. All this could be put under control with the presence of a Centralized authority.

what areas of life can a decentralized blockchain be helpful? (write in own words).

Decentralized Blockchain can assist in so many areas of life but I would be looking at the four (4) main aspects of life which are Finance, Land sale and land use, The Electoral Process, Education.

Finance sector

This is a very crucial sector where blockchain technology would be really helpful and essential in. I believe with this technology, the country or companies' funds would be properly used. In the system today, those in power misuse funds so much and we the citizens or members of the company wouldn't have any evidence about their evil deeds but with the transparency blockchain technology provides they won't be able to misappropriate funds as it would be made public. Also data would not be manipulated or censored so there is no illegal transaction which won't be made public.

Land Sales and Land Use

In my country today, having even plot of land is very difficult due to sluggish methods applied by the government to give out land to the public. One can apply for land and in a whole year he won't be attended to. First of all, you pay then fill out and make alot of documents which the government would have to approve and sign on so the piece of land can be your and there are still alot of applicants who haven't gotten feedback. There are also alot of land disputes in various parts of the world were parties, families and friends are torn apart due to disputes of who own the land. With decentralized blockchain technology, records are easily made where the real owner can be ascertained. There would also be ease in the land registration process and no one would be able to manipulate the data in his favour.

The Electoral Process

Due to excess election rigging, electoral violence and bribery and corruption the electoral process is nothing to write home about as alot of people due to fear of losing their lives to electoral violence they would rather avoid election. This could lead to the wrong leader being elected so inorder to curb these problems decentralized blockchain technology can change the electoral process for the better. The voting process would be made easier and the votes would be counted in fairness and the results would be transparent. A lot of electoral candidates bribe the people counting the votes and have their way but with decentralized blockchain technology this won't be possible and the country affairs would be run smoothly as the people's choice get elected and lives and property are saved.

Education

In the educational sector now, there is so much corruption but no one cares about the after effects. What I'm saying here is for example, a medicine student pays his way through out school and ends up being a doctor with a certificate he bought. What would be the fate of his patients. Due to reasons like little salary alot of teachers collect money from students inorder to give them passing scores. This would have great effects on the children's future but with decentralized blockchain technology, a teacher who indulges in such corrupt activities would be exposed and this would force the students to go through the right processes to acquire knowledge.

Conclusion

I was able to expand my knowledge on the Crypto world and share my view point of understanding with you all. I hope I was able to make my readers understand that Decentralization is necessary for development in some many arrears and in as much as there are disadvantages of using a decentralized system, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages so we can make use of it and work on the arrears where it could be lacking.