3 ms·

1. I was using the word "wrong" in its normal dictionary definition (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wrong http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wrong).

by rada 16y ago

1. I was using the word "wrong" in its normal dictionary definition (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wrong http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wrong). It is not right, good, or truthful to "shout" your profits/assets in big print on the main financial docs, while "whispering" your losses/liabilities in small print in supplemental documents. 2. If you can't get the rules changed, it doesn't matter what you wish they were. Are you serious? It matters very much. Public opinion changes both the rules and interpretation of the rules all the time, through voting, legislative action and general intellectual osmosis. Just this week, we got ourselves gay marriage and iPhone jailbreaking. I am especially surprised to see such an ultra conservative opinion on a hacker/startup community. 3. I totally agree with you that intelligent investing takes time and skill. I dedicate maybe a half hour of my workday to investing, and I would guess that your average investor doesn't spend even that much time. Yes, it is terribly inadequate. So what are you doing to do about that? We do not live in an ideal world - we do not have medical insurance only for those who exercise constantly, avoid stress, and never eat anything with sugar in it; or driver's licenses only for those with perfect vision; etc. The rules must work for the real world, not some hypothetical ideal. 3. The rest of your paragraph is a hyperbolic effort to put words in another's mouth. Actually, I explicitly refrained from putting words into op's mouth: "I am not saying you personally would subscribe to that argument of course". Sorry if that was unclear.

bmm6o 16y ago
My point about "wrong" vs. "against the rules" is that the rules of a system go a very long way to determining the behavior of participants. Subjective claims of wrongness carry very little weight when there are stronger incentives working in a different direction. Large-scale change usually occurs through changing the rules of the system. This is especially true if you want the change to happen quickly. I'm sure you can find counter-examples, but they are largely the exception. > Public opinion changes both the rules [...] If the systemic change is a result of a change to the rules, then it's not a counter-example to what you're quoting. If you re-read what I wrote, I think you'll find we're closer to agreement than you think.

by rada 16y ago

bmm6o 16y ago

My point about "wrong" vs. "against the rules" is that the rules of a system go a very long way to determining the behavior of participants. Subjective claims of wrongness carry very little weight when there are stronger incentives working in a different direction. Large-scale change usually occurs through changing the rules of the system. This is especially true if you want the change to happen quickly. I'm sure you can find counter-examples, but they are largely the exception. > Public opinion changes both the rules [...] If the systemic change is a result of a change to the rules, then it's not a counter-example to what you're quoting. If you re-read what I wrote, I think you'll find we're closer to agreement than you think.