[kang]

> If they could, distributed algorithms would do without clocks entirely, but then consensus becomes impossible

Consensus can be achieved without clocks using blockchains: Instead of timelocking the resource, client can broadcast his altered version after making changes to the network. The next client than then start working on top of this changed resource, but since multiple versions might be floating around (due to timing issues in the first place) the longest tree wins. So if a client submits work done on a shorter tree then it is rejected by the network.

This has other issues like it takes longer time & reorganization risks but it does away with clocks altogether by providing a different method of timestamping.

This is similar to proof-of-work timestamp server that bitcoin uses but we can do away with proof-of-work because the resource and membership in the network is centralised.

[querulous]

a blockchain does not make consensus without clocks possible it is just a grossly inefficient vector clock implementation (that incidentally does not provide consensus in the distributed systems sense)

[kang]

I just described how you can do it without clocks. Is there a mistake somewhere, sorry?

[querulous]

a clock in the context of a distributed system is a method of providing a partial ordering (a happened before b). most blockchain implementations use a merkle tree that uses predecessor transactions as inputs to the output as the clock

regardless, blockchains as implemented in certificate transparency and bitcoin aren't actually consensus systems, they are just (highly accurate) approximations

[kang]

Both of the points you make are true but how are they relevant here?

We are talking about clocks that tell time in the quoted quote (time is ordering of events by definiton) & consensus in bitcoin is final(accurate) enough an practical approximation as much as a centralised system as described in OP is. Either I am misunderstanding or this is your dislike for bitcoin.

[batbomb]

The blockchain is a consensus protocol.