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I can cut down trees and exchange it with my friends as a medium of exchange and call it value. It has no value to the wider economy or world but to us, and e
by throw2016 9y ago
I can cut down trees and exchange it with my friends as a
medium of exchange and call it value.
It has no value to the wider economy or world but to us, and even though it has value to my friends it's a terrible, wasteful and unethical way to generate value. I am not generating value, just wasting trees.
You just can't create money or value out of nothing. Its linked to utility, markets, labour and the wider economy and belies the fundamental confusion in the crypto world about money. But intoxicated by the prospect, like alchemists and other charlatans before them the crypto community continue to fantasize about gaining something from nothing.
- KGIII 9y agoYou know that trees are pretty much the definition of a renewable resource, right? As in, I have a large sustainable forestry operation and they are cutting trees down as I type this. I own it, I don't do the work. That wood builds your house, provides heat, provides jobs, makes dowels, and makes paper - depending on what is harvested. And, it will be able to do so in perpetuity. The process is called TSI and is even able to increase habitats for the animals - they are delicious. I'm not sure we can have a productive conversation.
- throw2016 9y agoThe value of wood derives from utility. You can see and understand the utility of wood and yet do not see the absurdity of cutting down trees and burning them as 'proof of work' for zero utility simply because 'you' want to use it as a medium of exchange and speculation? This is what current crypto currencies are doing. How long before people notice you are wasting wood for no purpose and put a stop to your activities?
- Shorel 9y agoThe value of trees is much higher than the commercial value of their wood.
- usrusr 9y agoNot when they are cut down and burnt to operate a blockchain that runs on smoke signals.
- Shorel 9y agoYes, it still is. Externalities* apply here. Global warming is one of them. Increased vulnerability to desertification is another effect. * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality
- usrusr 9y agoMaybe I was being too literal: once burned, that value is gone. We agree on the cost of burning.
- Shorel 9y agoIt is not that easy. There's always a point of 'very slow return that requires no humans to succeed'. Otherwise, we could just fill the Sahara with trees in a decade. It is not going to happen.