Think about it in terms of a family tree. An uncle is very close to being your Dad, but you would be different had you been born from the genes of your uncle. In that case, then your Dad would be your Uncle.
Your family tree is like the blockchain. You and your Dad are like "correct" blocks. Uncles are like blocks that were very close to being the "correct" next block in the blockchain, but are not because they were beat to the punch by your Dad. That is why they are uncles and not blocks and constitute a fork in the blockchain, and are thus not valid. Cousins are even more useless in this context.
Although, I believe Ethash rewards uncles, correct? But not cousins?
@quantumgravity it's a correct and amusing explanation yes Uncles are indeed rewarded, which helps securing the network by making the chain "heavier". This in turn is encouraged by rewarding miners for including uncles. A virtuous cycle, if you will.
Thanks. Don't fully understand making the chain "heavier"...quantumgravity is saying that uncles constitute a fork (isn't that a "bad" thing?), not a block. So you reward miners to "confirm" that they are uncles...kind of "stiching" them up properly so that nobody continues there?
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Your family tree is like the blockchain. You and your Dad are like "correct" blocks. Uncles are like blocks that were very close to being the "correct" next block in the blockchain, but are not because they were beat to the punch by your Dad. That is why they are uncles and not blocks and constitute a fork in the blockchain, and are thus not valid. Cousins are even more useless in this context.
Although, I believe Ethash rewards uncles, correct? But not cousins?
Uncles are indeed rewarded, which helps securing the network by making the chain "heavier". This in turn is encouraged by rewarding miners for including uncles. A virtuous cycle, if you will.
I hope this helps.