📝 CRDTs

I don't understand CRDTs or OT algorithms to be honest. It's just not natural for me to understand why we need to edit something at the exact same time.

In real life, I don't write at the exact place that someone else does. If I want to collaborate with someone in person, each has a piece of paper and a pencil or each has their computer.

Even if collaborating in Google Docs we’re not editing the same part of the document. At least I haven’t done that.

Space.

You can’t be at the same space at the same time. That doesn’t happen. But it seems to me that async collaboration implies that?

I know that it’s about merging changes and avoiding conflicts.

But I insist. In real life, we don’t have telepathy. And if we had it, we wouldn’t speak at the same time. We would still take turns to speak and listen.

I think the closest thing we have to CRDTs are neurons and cells. I don’t know enough about this but my understanding is that neurons collectively have copies of knowledge not data. (see 📝 Data Persistence)

Truth is fuzzy.
Data is fragile.
Knowledge is never static.

Every living thing is essentially a different unique version of the accumulated knowledge of life.

Why am I saying this? What does this have to do with CRDTs?

I’m not sure.

But one thing is clear. I don’t feel excited about learning CRDT algorithms and all those things.

What I do know is that I want better tools for managing copies, addresses, and merge conflicts.