Name: Anonymous 2011-09-21 17:10
I have a question which I will present using a hypothetical. It's about a popular game called Sport. A game of Sport is played by two players and is recorded by one recordkeeper.
Alice and Beth love Sport, and they will go to each others' houses to play. If they play at Alice's house, the recordkeeper is always Alice's brother, Alex. If they play at Beth's house, the recordkeeper is always Beth's brother, Bob.
Alice and Beth are both part of a Sport League consisting of hundreds of people. Whenever Alice and Beth play, their game records have to be reported to the Leaguemaster. Whoever has the most wins at the end of the season is given a cash prize, so it is important that the Leaguemaster's records are accurate.
For any given game of Sport being reported, the Leaguemaster must know:
1. Who played the game
2. That the game was played by normal league rules
3. Statistics about the game; especially, the game's winner
The problem: since Bob and Beth are related, Bob can't be trusted to not falsify the game record in Beth's favor whenever he gets to be recordkeeper. The same goes for Alex, who might falsify in Alice's favor whenever he gets the chance. Alex and Bob have also been known to rig the game itself in order to give their respective sister the advantage.
The question: How can the Leaguemaster guarantee that he is given accurate records about any given game?
Alice and Beth love Sport, and they will go to each others' houses to play. If they play at Alice's house, the recordkeeper is always Alice's brother, Alex. If they play at Beth's house, the recordkeeper is always Beth's brother, Bob.
Alice and Beth are both part of a Sport League consisting of hundreds of people. Whenever Alice and Beth play, their game records have to be reported to the Leaguemaster. Whoever has the most wins at the end of the season is given a cash prize, so it is important that the Leaguemaster's records are accurate.
For any given game of Sport being reported, the Leaguemaster must know:
1. Who played the game
2. That the game was played by normal league rules
3. Statistics about the game; especially, the game's winner
The problem: since Bob and Beth are related, Bob can't be trusted to not falsify the game record in Beth's favor whenever he gets to be recordkeeper. The same goes for Alex, who might falsify in Alice's favor whenever he gets the chance. Alex and Bob have also been known to rig the game itself in order to give their respective sister the advantage.
The question: How can the Leaguemaster guarantee that he is given accurate records about any given game?