4 ms·

Computers at some point was technology that 95% of the planet doesn't understand.

by verroq 9y ago

y4mi 9y ago
Do you consider accessing Facebook as 'understanding computers'? If not, this number hasn't changed that much...
- rublev 9y ago
  Do you consider having a wallet as 'understanding bitcoin'? If not, this number hasn't changed that much... We can do this all day. You don't need to understand anything other than downloading a wallet, storing your coins there, and being able to send them anywhere instantly.
  - bduerst 9y ago
    Except bitcoins are not instant, and aren't even guaranteed to go through. The transactions are also non-refundable and pseudo anonymous, unlike the payment methods in your wallet. This is not a feature. Making analogies with computers and smart phones and wallets doesn't mean Bitcoin is guaranteed to be successful or mass adopted.
anigbrowl 9y ago
Most people still don't understand computers, but they're easy to use and relatively predictable, although security is still a big problem. The thing about currency is that if people lose their money they might suffer and die. So it should be easy enough to understand that they can't easily be ripped off, and transparent enough that nobody can accumulate system-changing quantities without that being pretty obvious to everyone else. I've been interested in Bitcoin for years but understanding the Bitcoin ecosystem seems like a full-time job. You can't have an economy entirely based on financialization and trading, and if the people who specialize in handling the currency are sure to end up with the largest amounts of it then it's hardly better than what it's replacing. I'm not saying there should be no rewards for specializing in currency work, but I'd like to see some sort of self-limiting mechanism. I'm reminded of a humorous Stanislaw Lem story in which a wicked king is tricked into replacing all the currency in the kingdom with uranium coins, so that his insatiable desire to accumulate as much as possible in the royal treasury eventually leads to criticality and his subsequent destruction.

Computers at some point was technology that 95% of the planet doesn't understand.

by verroq 9y ago

Computers at some point was technology that 95% of the planet doesn't understand.

y4mi 9y ago

Do you consider accessing Facebook as 'understanding computers'? If not, this number hasn't changed that much...

rublev 9y ago
Do you consider having a wallet as 'understanding bitcoin'? If not, this number hasn't changed that much... We can do this all day. You don't need to understand anything other than downloading a wallet, storing your coins there, and being able to send them anywhere instantly.
- bduerst 9y ago
  Except bitcoins are not instant, and aren't even guaranteed to go through. The transactions are also non-refundable and pseudo anonymous, unlike the payment methods in your wallet. This is not a feature. Making analogies with computers and smart phones and wallets doesn't mean Bitcoin is guaranteed to be successful or mass adopted.

anigbrowl 9y ago

Most people still don't understand computers, but they're easy to use and relatively predictable, although security is still a big problem. The thing about currency is that if people lose their money they might suffer and die. So it should be easy enough to understand that they can't easily be ripped off, and transparent enough that nobody can accumulate system-changing quantities without that being pretty obvious to everyone else. I've been interested in Bitcoin for years but understanding the Bitcoin ecosystem seems like a full-time job. You can't have an economy entirely based on financialization and trading, and if the people who specialize in handling the currency are sure to end up with the largest amounts of it then it's hardly better than what it's replacing. I'm not saying there should be no rewards for specializing in currency work, but I'd like to see some sort of self-limiting mechanism. I'm reminded of a humorous Stanislaw Lem story in which a wicked king is tricked into replacing all the currency in the kingdom with uranium coins, so that his insatiable desire to accumulate as much as possible in the royal treasury eventually leads to criticality and his subsequent destruction.