Can parallel validation side-step the slow block issue?

The conversation further delves into strategic manipulation by attackers around the retarget period—a phase during which the blockchain network adjusts its difficulty level to maintain a consistent block time. An attacker could exploit this by timing the release of blocks in a manner that maximizes the difficulty increase for honest miners, thereby creating blocks with less cumulative difficulty without external intervention.

The possibility of preemptively addressing attacks through soft forks is mentioned, acknowledging that while feasible, it requires prior knowledge of the attack vectors. This leads to the acknowledgment of "unknown unknowns," or unforeseen challenges, emphasizing the difficulty in preparing for and mitigating such threats.

A proposed solution to mitigate the negative effects of slow-to-validate blocks involves enhancing the core's ability to quickly relay compact blocks—that is, blocks missing transactions—while still in the validation process. This approach aims not to penalize blocks that take longer to validate but rather to reduce their potential to disrupt the network, ensuring smoother operation and less vulnerability to certain types of attacks.