[ahmett]

Paxos paper is in "Basics" category just like it is meant to be a joke. Even the "Paxos made simple" paper is not easily understood by graduate students as many studies have shown. (see Raft paper for a study on this.)

[marcosdumay]

A "basic" concept is one that other concepts improve upon. The popular association with "easy" is not always true.

[twic]

That sounds more like a fundamental concept than a basic one.