World Computer

World Computer is a term defined by Gavin Wood in his yellow paper on Ethereum.

Excerpts from Vinay Gupta's article

Smart Contracts and the World Computer 5th paragraph:

So what do we mean by world computer? In essence, Ethereum simulates a perfect machine — a thing which could never exist in nature because of the laws of physics, but which can be simulated by a large enough computer network. The network’s size isn’t there to produce the fastest possible computer (although that may come later with blockchain scaling) but to produce a universal computer which is accessible from anywhere by anybody, and (critically!) which always gives the same results to everybody. It’s a global resource which stores answers and cannot be subverted, denied or censored (See From Cyperpunks to Blockchains video on youtube).

— Vinay Gupta

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