Talk:Two Generals' Problem

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Bitcoin / Blockchain[edit]

CONSENSUS AGAINST

See last comment ShiberToast (talk) 18:03, 12 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

What about Bitcoin / Blockchain? --FML ^{talk - me at pt} 20:48, 23 March 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Bitcoin and blockchains are not the magical bullet to solve all computer problem ShiberToast (talk) 17:20, 11 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Diagram for section "Illustrating the Problem"[edit]

I believe a diagram would help better visualize the problem then just plain text ShiberToast (talk) 18:15, 12 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Issue with "Proof by Symmetry" subsection in section "Proof"[edit]

Proof by symmetry assumed that the attacker can send fake messages, but in the problem, the attacker can merely intercept messages. Should the subsection be removed? ShiberToast (talk) 18:38, 12 February 2020 (UTC)[reply]

(Good) source for "first proved unsolvable"[edit]

"The Two Generals' Problem was the first computer communication problem to be proved to be unsolvable" is a very strong but questionable statement. What about the various halting problems? Church, Turing, Godel, etc were working on unsolvable problems in the 1930s and 40s. Without an explanation and a great reference, I think we should drop that statement. --Drpixie (talk) 00:55, 2 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

agreed Titaan123 (talk) 08:29, 24 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, the halting problem was proved unsolvable long before the two generals' problem.

However, the halting problem is not a "communication problem".

I added a reference that says the closely-related, more complicated, Byzantine generals problem was "one of the first" computer communication problems proven to be unsolvable. It seems likely to me that two generals' problem was solved before that.

It would be nice if we found a reliable source that specifically named the first few computer communication problems proven to be unsolvable. (If it turns out that the two generals' problem wasn't proven until much later, what Wikipedia article would be best for mentioning that source?). --DavidCary (talk) 22:20, 31 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]