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Semicolony ELI5 · comic

Quorum.

Requiring a majority to agree before acting, so two halves of a split can never both decide.

  1. MOTION
    1

    Picture a committee of five with a motion on the floor.

  2. to pass: 3 of 5 more than half, or nothing
    2

    The rule: nothing passes without more than half — three of five — voting yes.

  3. Carried.
    3 yes — it carries
    3

    Three hands go up, so the motion carries; the other two cannot block it.

  4. shared two majorities always overlap
    4

    The trick is that any two majorities of the same group must share a member.

  5. 3 — acts 2 — waits
    5

    So if the network splits, only the side with a majority can act; the smaller half waits.

  6. R + W > N overlap = fresh reads
    6

    For data, the same dial: make read and write sets overlap (R + W > N) and reads see the latest write.

A committee that needs a majority to act — so two halves of a split can never both decide.
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