A Box of mangoes and the blockchain
Once upon a time there was a king who was kind and benevolent.
His kingdom prospered under him.
The populous of his kingdom was mostly happy and most of his staff was honest and hardworking.
The reason being that the king himself supervised the proceedings of the court.
Since his army was strong and the boundaries of his kingdom were well guarded so
In his free time the king delved in his favorite past time that was gardening.
Under his supervision the garden bloomed and the fruit trees would be covered with the seasonal fruits.
In the summer months the exotic mango trees in his garden would produce some of the most exquisite sweet mangoes.
When the king wanted to send out a gift
Once the king came to know of an old childhood friend with whom he had studied in school.
The king wanted to send a gift to his friend and thought of sending out a box of mangoes.
So he himself selected the best mangoes from that years harvest and had them packed in a nice decorative bag.
He wrote a letter to his friend stating that he is sending a box of 20 best handpicked mangoes for him as a gift.
He sent out the box with an employee.For the sake of this story let us call him Joe.
The Long journey begins
The employee (Joe) took the box and the letter and embarked upon the journey.
It was a long journey and as the journey progressed he was getting tempted by the sweet smell of the mangoes.
He Decided to take a break and rest under a tree.
He was tempted to eat the mangoes but then he saw the letter.
He himself could not read or write so had no idea about its content.
However he had a weird notion that if he ate the mangoes in the presence of the letter then somehow the details of his deed would be communicated by the letter to the king's friend.
Joe's innovative plan
Joe dug up a hole in the ground and put the letter there and covered it with mud.
The idea that what the letter cannot see it cannot tell made him feel better about the situation.
He sat down and opened the box of the mangoes.
The sweet aroma made him even more hungry.
He thought who would know if he ate one mango.
So he swiftly pealed one mango and devoured it enjoying it to the last drop of juice and pulp.
He continued his journey and on the way stopped at seven places and repeated the ritual of first burying the letter, eating the mango and digging out the letter.
So by the time he reached the home of the king's friend her had consumed seven mangoes and only thirteen were left.
He was confident that since no one saw him eating the mangoes thus there was no proof.
Joe arrives at the house of the king's friend
Upon his arrival Joe handed over the letter and remaining mangoes expecting a reward.
When the king's friend read the letter he was delighted to hear from the King.
However upon checking he found that there only thirteen mangoes and not twenty as mentioned in the letter.
He questioned Joe who denied any knowledge about the matter.
So the king's friend announced that the matter of the missing mangoes must be reported to the king.
Joe gets nervous
This news made Joe extremely nervous and he confessed. Though he remained confused as to how the king's friend came to know about his deed as there was no witness to his deed.
Where does Blockchain come into this?
Look at the king as the central authority or the government.
It sends out benefits to its populous.
This could be dole to pension or any other benefits.
The government chooses Joe who represents the centralized system of dispersal.
The seven place that Joe stopped can be looked as middlemen or points of exploitation where a person with centralized authority can misuse or divert the resource at their disposal.
The box of mangoes represents what rightfully belongs to the people collectively and individuals as citizens of a state or country or as humans and living beings in general.
Instead if a decetralized blockchain is used to manage the dispersal of resources and connect with one of all there would be
a) Transparency in the process by way of transparency in the nature of a public decentralized blockchain would present a case where each record can be made public and verifiable.
b) Alternatively if there is data that needs to be kept private it can be done so using private blockchains or private side chains.
c) A decentralized blockchain presents a case of better transparency and efficient governance
Sporting thought for the day
Before you win a race in the field you have to win it in the mind.