At 4:49 PM +0200 2005-09-09, Arnold Schekkerman wrote:
Each time I read about this, I start wondering. From my knowledge of
measurement in general, if you do one measurement, you get a result. If you
do two or more independent measurements, and apply the correct math, you get
a better result.
That's not the way it works. There's an old saying -- a man with
two clocks does not know what time it is. It's very true.
In order for you to understand how the NTP algorithms work, you
need to understand how the concept of "Byzantine Agreement" works.
Unfortunately, this is a deep and complex topic, and very few people
in the world really understand it. If you're not one of those
people, and you're unwilling or unable to dig deeply enough into the
subject so that you can make sure that you fully understand it all,
then you can't really even get started discussing the subject.
This is a barrier to any discussion on the subject, and the entry
level is very, very high. But you've got to cross that barrier if
you want to be able to talk intelligently about it.
I don't know enough about the subject to talk intelligently about
it, but I do know enough about it to know that I don't know, and am
not likely to know.
I guess this is not really for a discussion on this list. So, I've put my
way of thinking on http://www.xs4all.nl/~arnold/files/ntp.txt and I welcome
any comments via the email address on that page.
Unfortunately, this is the wrong way around. The people who
truly understand how Byzantine Agreement works are not the ones you
have to have prove you wrong, instead you have to prove yourself
right to them.
--
Brad Knowles, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little
temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), reply of the Pennsylvania
Assembly to the Governor, November 11, 1755
SAGE member since 1995. See <http://www.sage.org/> for more info.
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