If you’re new to or learning more about blockchain, this is a great post that breaks down the semantics of what a blockchain smart contract is and is not.

Mike Bursell:

The first thing to know about blockchain smart contracts is that there isn’t a contract, they aren’t smart, nor are they necessarily on a blockchain.

Smart contracts could, I suppose, be smart, but for me, that means complex and able to react to unexpected or unlikely situations. I think that people call them “smart” because they’re embodied in code.