to the Proof of Work Abomination
The YeNom protocol was carefully detailed here (20/Jan/2006). Since then, every major ‘crypto’ implements the basic concept of an eternal record of transactions linked/chained together as described above over 16 years ago. Despite universal concurrence on this fundamental blockchain tenet all participants in this ever burgeoning mania are nevertheless curiously and emphatically antithetical to YeNom — principally due to their failure to adequately accredit meaningful monetization. This in turn leads to products crafted to yield obscene profits to their founders while also perpetuating a paradigm inviting -if not begging- thievery, abuse and cheating — such as double spending etc.
To guard against the misery of bad actors succumbing to temptations inherent in this arena, various schemes exist to assure blockchain integrity without resorting to trust in any centralized authority. Thanks largely to the proliferation of bitcoin, ‘proof of work’ with it's waste and complexity problems prevails as the perverse concoction of choice. Unfortunately, to the extent that alternate decentralized mechanisms are less onerous, they're also often less effective.
Do not get the wrong idea ... although these immaculately fungible tokens wholly fail to realize the grass-root people power afforded by SUYO/YeNom monetization; they still most definitely represent a vital world enhancement methodology whose rightful significance is difficult to overstate. Consequently it's an honor to respectfully submit a humble proposal to dramatically & totally circumvent various increasingly problematic issues.
The whole challenge to achieving decentralized blockchain consensus (governance) lies in the necessity to avoid trusting any governing authority what-so-ever; since any human based entity could conceivably fall victim to threats, persuasion, hackers, and/or system failure. Any inherent & inescapable potential for fraud or obscured transparency must not be tolerated. How can the validity/veracity of any arbiter possibly be ensured absolutely? Albeit all, a centralized solution might yet have a virtuous part to play; it merely has to be super-centralized and super-human. Insteps Ra from the center of our solar system!
The sun -free of temptation- certainly does have some unquestionably salient distinctions. Many believe that it not only predates human existence but should also endure well into our foreseeable future come what may. Unlike "keys" it is not prone to being lost or misplaced. And it's accessibility rates among the more difficult to deny even by powerful political pontiffs. Although it is probably pretty obvious by now how the sun could be implemented in the service of cryptos, the following will belabor to flush out the rudiments.
OK, in PoW the duty/job/work of a crypto miner is to come up with a thoroughly unpredictable nonce to determine which block of the various ones assembled throughout the network will be chosen for addition onto the (block)chain at a roughly preset rate. The impeccably indeterminate nature of the nonce makes for a setting (hopefully) immune to interference by cheaters. So the nonce is simply a number (within a set) that can only be discovered by guessing and thus free from possible human control. Notably the sun can also provide us with such a number with the same and even better characteristics.
One way to think of the sun as a incorruptible (random) number generator, is to perceive it's ever changing surface and flares as a type of radically immense and wildly elaborate QR-code. Now rather than dauntingly elaborate and expensive mining operations (with their increasing centralization of power/influence) making hundreds of sextillion guesses each, we basically just collect guesses from the numerous peer nodes as to what number (aka sunQR) the sun will be broadcasting at a precisely set time in the future (in leu of crudely aiming at an average 10 minute time between new blocks).
Suggested scenario with more detail: Let's say that every 10 minutes (when ’UNIX Epoch time‘ modulus 36000 equals 0) the current sun-QR is captured by scores or hundreds of sun-stations. Peer nodes with assembled candidate blocks have already made a guess at the sun-QR for this particular time. The peer node with the best guess wins and their block is affixed to the chain (providing of course that said block is valid otherwise the next best node is selected). Understand that while a guess is proffered well ahead of any scheduled sun-QR capture; candidate blocks to be added may be assembled at the last moment. If a fork in the blockchain occurs due to network issues, then the chain sporting the closest guess to the actual sun-QR prevails ... pretty straight forward.
Possible guessing criteria:
a) Only wallets owned by a full node with some minimal balance are eligible to submit a guess transaction.
b) Only one guess transaction is permitted per IP address.
c) In the unlikely event of identical guesses only the first/original is recorded.
d) A ’forever guess transaction‘ allows a single guess to be auto-submitted for all future sun readings provided the wallet's status is OK.
e) Only guesses prior to a specified cut-off time (1.61803 days?) before any given sun reading are logged/allowed.
f) If a prescribed maximum number of guesses (186,000?) are reached before the cut-off time no more are excepted.
g) A fee to submit plus a reward for the best guess may have advantages (no suggested ratio is tendered).
h) In a 'proof of work' verses 'Ra reigns' scenario the importance of timestamp integrity may merit examination. An off-hand answer to a trustworthy clock would lie with the several global positioning satellite systems.
Closing notes: The means & algorithms to be developed for generating what's being termed the “sun-QR” represent an intriguing venture. In addition to the geographical locale and shape of features; should their relative intensity, color and movement vector also be factored in? A thorough analysis may also be required to best determine exactly how the ’closeness‘ of a guess is measured. Should a sun-QR be something that can yield a visual depiction? How might a peer node derive a guess? In one since such concerns could be construed as irrelevant just so long as the fidelity requirement is achieved by any given strategy. On the other hand, gleaning auxiliary solar data may help in gaining relevant collateral insight into the star itself. In any event an obsession with our dear sun is likely healthier for our species and planet than a maniacal focus on wasting precious electrical energy.
