3 ms·

Acai berry is ok, but Bitcoin is bad?

afarrell 9y ago
One's ability to use (and therefore consume and therefore buy) acai berry product close-to-fundamentally limited by biology. Not only that, but there is a lag of as least 1 day between ordering an acai berry product and receiving it. Nobody is going to lose $200K investing in Acai berry. Someone, especially a someone with a smartphone and poor impulse control, might lose $200K investing in a cryptocurrency. The sort of person who has that money to lose is either retired or reasonably wealthy, and therefore has the time or self-advocation skill to have an incremental influence on legislation or regulation.
- notahacker 9y ago
  Also, Acai Berry promotions are unlikely to fall foul of securities marketing laws, no matter how palpably dishonest they are
tommorris 9y ago
Yes, acaí berries are tasty and make a lovely addition to a healthy breakfast. Cryptocurrencies are Internet penny stocks with lofty aspirations.
cesarb 9y ago
Sorry if I'm out of the loop, but why would açaí be bad? I can walk a couple of minutes and buy a drink of açaí with guaraná, and I've never heard anything negative about these drinks.
- candu 9y ago
  Well: "very little research has been done in people on the health effects of acai products." [1] In general, health supplements, miracle berries, etc. sit on dubious scientific ground: many have either not been extensively studied, or have been studied and shown to have no discernible effect (good or bad). The assertion here is not that açaí itself is bad per se, but that it is marketed as being healthy with little or no scientific evidence to back that up - and therefore that people are being convinced to waste their money through deceptive marketing, in that they imagine themselves to be getting a health benefit that likely does not exist. [1] https://nccih.nih.gov/health/acai/ataglance.htm https://nccih.nih.gov/health/acai/ataglance.htm
  - sli 9y ago
    > miracle berries Is this commonly used to refer to acai berries? The only "miracle berry" I know of[1] is named for the effect on perception of flavor caused by the chemical miraculin, which is produced by the berry. They're also extremely fun to introduce to people who have never tried them before, and I highly recommend them for your next party. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum
    - candu 9y ago
      Ah, fair. I was using it here as more of a general term for all berries caught under the umbrella of various health crazes (antioxidants, etc.), but forgot about this berry (which, as you say, is a lot of fun to play around with).
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

One's ability to use (and therefore consume and therefore buy) acai berry product close-to-fundamentally limited by biology. Not only that, but there is a lag of as least 1 day between ordering an acai berry product and receiving it. Nobody is going to lose $200K investing in Acai berry. Someone, especially a someone with a smartphone and poor impulse control, might lose $200K investing in a cryptocurrency. The sort of person who has that money to lose is either retired or reasonably wealthy, and therefore has the time or self-advocation skill to have an incremental influence on legislation or regulation.

notahacker 9y ago
Also, Acai Berry promotions are unlikely to fall foul of securities marketing laws, no matter how palpably dishonest they are

tommorris 9y ago

Yes, acaí berries are tasty and make a lovely addition to a healthy breakfast. Cryptocurrencies are Internet penny stocks with lofty aspirations.

cesarb 9y ago

Sorry if I'm out of the loop, but why would açaí be bad? I can walk a couple of minutes and buy a drink of açaí with guaraná, and I've never heard anything negative about these drinks.

candu 9y ago
Well: "very little research has been done in people on the health effects of acai products." [1] In general, health supplements, miracle berries, etc. sit on dubious scientific ground: many have either not been extensively studied, or have been studied and shown to have no discernible effect (good or bad). The assertion here is not that açaí itself is bad per se, but that it is marketed as being healthy with little or no scientific evidence to back that up - and therefore that people are being convinced to waste their money through deceptive marketing, in that they imagine themselves to be getting a health benefit that likely does not exist. [1] https://nccih.nih.gov/health/acai/ataglance.htm https://nccih.nih.gov/health/acai/ataglance.htm
- sli 9y ago
  > miracle berries Is this commonly used to refer to acai berries? The only "miracle berry" I know of[1] is named for the effect on perception of flavor caused by the chemical miraculin, which is produced by the berry. They're also extremely fun to introduce to people who have never tried them before, and I highly recommend them for your next party. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum
  - candu 9y ago
    Ah, fair. I was using it here as more of a general term for all berries caught under the umbrella of various health crazes (antioxidants, etc.), but forgot about this berry (which, as you say, is a lot of fun to play around with).
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]