The Emergence Machine

Smart Contract

abstract · Computing · Level 17 · E10

E10Institutions

Each concept here is mapped to its prerequisites — the ideas you'd need first to understand it — all the way down to four foundations: Space, Time, Energy, Pattern. Click any prerequisite to drill down, or scroll for the chain graph.

Trace. Question. Emerge.

Emergence definition

smart-contract requires blockchain, program, decentralization, computation. It uses consensus.

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Wiktionary senses

External reference — all senses of the word “smart contract” on Wiktionary. This atlas concept maps to only the slice of meaning relevant to the prerequisite graph.

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Source: Wiktionary — “smart contract”. Content available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Historical origin

Origin word
smart contract
Origin language
English

Prerequisite chain

Possible path of this concept down to the fundamental substrate.

thisfoundationsL17L16L15L14L10L8L4L2L1L0Smart ContractBlockchainTransactionBusinessMoneyConsensusPrincipalResourceCooperateProgramSocietyDecentralizationDataLogicNumber… intermediate l…FormInformationLifeOperationActionChangeCollectionExistenceEnergyPatternSpaceTimeE1 concrete → E14 abstract

Neighborhood

Direct prerequisites above, concepts that depend on this one below.

thisprerequisitesSmart ContractL17DecentralizationL4ProgramL8ConsensusL10BlockchainL16E1 concrete → E14 abstract

In other languages

Prerequisites

What you need to understand first.

  • Decentralization L4 (requires)
    Smart contracts run decentralized.
  • Program L8 (requires)
    Smart contracts are programs.
  • Consensus L10 (uses)
    Smart contracts need consensus.
  • Blockchain L16 (requires)
    Smart contracts are programs deployed and executed on blockchain networks.