A zero knowledge system for voting?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on a theoretical voting system that ensures voter anonymity through a mathematical approach involving polynomial graphs. The original poster recalls a concept presented by a math professor, which suggests that such a system is impractical due to the need for a truly continuous representation of the graph, something computers cannot achieve. Participants clarify that while current democratic systems maintain voter confidentiality, the OP is interested in a cryptographic method that could facilitate anonymous voting online. The conversation highlights the challenges of implementing this concept in a digital context. Overall, the thread explores the intersection of mathematics, cryptography, and voting privacy.
Appledave
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
My memory on this is a bit foggy, but a couple of years ago one my math professors had a digression about a system of voting where no one would be able to know what anyone else voted. It involved the graph of a polynomial, and the kicker was that this system couldn't be implemented in society because it needed a truly continuous representation of the graph, which computers aren't able to do. Does anyone know what system this is? It's been bugging me for quite a while now, but I just can't seem to remember anything else about it :S
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
Appledave said:
... a system of voting where no one would be able to know what anyone else voted ...
This is what is actually implemented in democracies. Nobody knows (for sure) what anybody else votes for.
 
Quite sure OP was thinking about a way to do that cryptographically - in a way you could implement in a computer and do via the internet.
 

Thread 'What Exactly is Dirac’s Delta Function? - Insight'

Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. In Dirac’s Principles of Quantum Mechanics published in 1930 he introduced a “convenient notation” he referred to as a “delta function” which he treated as a continuum analog to the discrete Kronecker delta. The Kronecker delta is simply the indexed components of the identity operator in matrix algebra Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/what-exactly-is-diracs-delta-function/ by...
View full post »

Thread 'Non-orthogonal bases'

Suppose ,instead of the usual x,y coordinate system with an I basis vector along the x -axis and a corresponding j basis vector along the y-axis we instead have a different pair of basis vectors ,call them e and f along their respective axes. I have seen that this is an important subject in maths My question is what physical applications does such a model apply to? I am asking here because I have devoted quite a lot of time in the past to understanding convectors and the dual...
View full post »
Thread 'Imaginary Pythagorus'

Thread 'Imaginary Pythagorus'

I posted this in the Lame Math thread, but it's got me thinking. Is there any validity to this? Or is it really just a mathematical trick? Naively, I see that i2 + plus 12 does equal zero2. But does this have a meaning? I know one can treat the imaginary number line as just another axis like the reals, but does that mean this does represent a triangle in the complex plane with a hypotenuse of length zero? Ibix offered a rendering of the diagram using what I assume is matrix* notation...
View full post »

Similar threads

Zero K proof that a chess position contains a checkmate
Replies
2
Views
1K
Minimizing systems of boolean functions as per specific gate costs
Replies
6
Views
2K
Is Mathematics a Belief System?
Replies
22
Views
4K
What Political System Best Suits a Rebuilding Society on a Distant Planet?
2
Replies
56
Views
7K
Ball bearing cantilever system with maximal moment of inertia
Replies
16
Views
2K
Defining geometry within a cartesian coordinate system
Replies
10
Views
2K
I Rigorous: Where is the Quantum System Prior to Measurement?
Replies
12
Views
2K
Mathematical model of a political process
Replies
2
Views
3K
I Building a solar system simulator
Replies
15
Views
3K
Remove Known Solution from System of Polynomials?
Replies
3
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top