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Author here. Yep, it's definitely a message to Bitcoin insiders, but that's not a bad thing. Sorry to fail your hopes. > grandiloquent and unsubstantiated sta

Author here. Yep, it's definitely a message to Bitcoin insiders, but that's not a bad thing. Sorry to fail your hopes. > grandiloquent and unsubstantiated statement Once you've studied money from a critical angle, you start to see that unsound money is the root cause of many of the problems with society and government. The first ten years of Bitcoin (plus history leading to it) and sound vs unsound money are both huge topics in their own right. Perhaps it would be useful for me to include a little box at the end of each article with links to books and lengthy posts about these topics.

pjc50 8y ago
> start to see that unsound money is the root cause of many of the problems with society and government This is a real "if you have a golden hammer everything looks like a nail" philosophy.
- hanniabu 8y ago
  Not sure if you're saying you agree with that quote or not.
mgraczyk 8y ago
Interestingly, I meet a lot of traditional banking folks who understand how Bitcoin works. It's very rare that I meet Bitcoin/blockchain folks who understand how traditional banking works.
- sodafountan 8y ago
  Do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing
  - solarkraft 8y ago
    I would assume so, though they could also be neutral.
- spiorf 8y ago
  Maybe the information asymmetry is part of the problem itself. Banking system is centuries upon centuries of arbitraty constructs. It does not make sense from the ground up.
  - mgraczyk 8y ago
    Yes, there are lots of good Bitcoin/blockchain resources online, while the banking system is more complicated and has fewer easily digestible resources available.
    - EpicEng 8y ago
      Crypto coins aren't really comparable to the banking system though. That's like comparing CPU architecture to the functionality of a website.
    - CaptainZapp 8y ago
      while the banking system is more complicated and has fewer easily digestible resources available I'd wager that the literature on banking and finance far outweighs resources on anything crypto. Specifically compared to papers on crypto coming from a neutral perspective. Your statement is just plain wrong. edit : clarification
      - pjc50 8y ago
        Ah, but it's not presented in a droning series of youtube videos that pander to the viewer's prejudices, so it might as well not exist! /s
  - acjohnson55 8y ago
    Could you elaborate on this? It's not at all obvious to me that this is true.
  - klipt 8y ago
    > centuries upon centuries of arbitrary constructs That also describes the English language, and yet here we are, still using it. In general, something that's lasted centuries is more likely to last centuries more, than something that's only lasted one decade.
simias 8y ago
I would be more interested to read about these topics, yes. In particular you really need to define what you mean by "sound" vs. "unsound" money and what makes BTC "sounder" than other currencies.
- clarkmoody 8y ago
  "Soundness" refers to the demand response of the money. Given increased demand for the money, can the supply be increased to absorb that demand while maintaining current purchasing power? Fiat money can be created or destroyed at any time, so it is the most unsound money. As purchasing power rises (falls), the central bank can create (destroy) money at will to counteract the trend. Gold exploration increases as the price rises, causing the supply to grow to meet this demand. Yet it is hard to mine gold, and its scarcity means that the increase of supply relative to the existing stock is small (roughly 2% / yr). Thus it is more sound than other metals, which are easier to mine. It is also much more sound than fiat money. Bitcoin's monetary base increases algorithmically, so there is no supply response to increased demand. On top of that, the monetary inflation rate tends toward zero over time. The supply will reach a maximum and stop increasing. This level of soundness is greater than that of gold in the long run. A great scholarly treatment of money is The Ethics of Money Production[1] [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6520108-the-ethics-of-money-production https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6520108-the-ethics-of-mo...
EpicEng 8y ago
>Yep, it's definitely a message to Bitcoin insiders, but that's not a bad thing. Adding more noise to the echo chamber certainly isn't a good thing. I'd be much more interested to hear about the problems surrounding the technology and how you envision them being solved. Most mining is centralized, no one actually uses it as currency, the entire thing is one big speculator market, etc.
- CaptainZapp 8y ago
  Totally agree. Alas, you left out the quasi-religious (if not to say cultish) aspects of the crypto enthusiast movement.

pjc50 8y ago

> start to see that unsound money is the root cause of many of the problems with society and government This is a real "if you have a golden hammer everything looks like a nail" philosophy.

hanniabu 8y ago
Not sure if you're saying you agree with that quote or not.

mgraczyk 8y ago

Interestingly, I meet a lot of traditional banking folks who understand how Bitcoin works. It's very rare that I meet Bitcoin/blockchain folks who understand how traditional banking works.

sodafountan 8y ago
Do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing
- solarkraft 8y ago
  I would assume so, though they could also be neutral.
spiorf 8y ago
Maybe the information asymmetry is part of the problem itself. Banking system is centuries upon centuries of arbitraty constructs. It does not make sense from the ground up.
- mgraczyk 8y ago
  Yes, there are lots of good Bitcoin/blockchain resources online, while the banking system is more complicated and has fewer easily digestible resources available.
  - EpicEng 8y ago
    Crypto coins aren't really comparable to the banking system though. That's like comparing CPU architecture to the functionality of a website.
  - CaptainZapp 8y ago
    while the banking system is more complicated and has fewer easily digestible resources available I'd wager that the literature on banking and finance far outweighs resources on anything crypto. Specifically compared to papers on crypto coming from a neutral perspective. Your statement is just plain wrong. edit : clarification
    - pjc50 8y ago
      Ah, but it's not presented in a droning series of youtube videos that pander to the viewer's prejudices, so it might as well not exist! /s
- acjohnson55 8y ago
  Could you elaborate on this? It's not at all obvious to me that this is true.
- klipt 8y ago
  > centuries upon centuries of arbitrary constructs That also describes the English language, and yet here we are, still using it. In general, something that's lasted centuries is more likely to last centuries more, than something that's only lasted one decade.

simias 8y ago

I would be more interested to read about these topics, yes. In particular you really need to define what you mean by "sound" vs. "unsound" money and what makes BTC "sounder" than other currencies.

clarkmoody 8y ago
"Soundness" refers to the demand response of the money. Given increased demand for the money, can the supply be increased to absorb that demand while maintaining current purchasing power? Fiat money can be created or destroyed at any time, so it is the most unsound money. As purchasing power rises (falls), the central bank can create (destroy) money at will to counteract the trend. Gold exploration increases as the price rises, causing the supply to grow to meet this demand. Yet it is hard to mine gold, and its scarcity means that the increase of supply relative to the existing stock is small (roughly 2% / yr). Thus it is more sound than other metals, which are easier to mine. It is also much more sound than fiat money. Bitcoin's monetary base increases algorithmically, so there is no supply response to increased demand. On top of that, the monetary inflation rate tends toward zero over time. The supply will reach a maximum and stop increasing. This level of soundness is greater than that of gold in the long run. A great scholarly treatment of money is The Ethics of Money Production[1] [1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6520108-the-ethics-of-money-production https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6520108-the-ethics-of-mo...

EpicEng 8y ago

>Yep, it's definitely a message to Bitcoin insiders, but that's not a bad thing. Adding more noise to the echo chamber certainly isn't a good thing. I'd be much more interested to hear about the problems surrounding the technology and how you envision them being solved. Most mining is centralized, no one actually uses it as currency, the entire thing is one big speculator market, etc.

CaptainZapp 8y ago
Totally agree. Alas, you left out the quasi-religious (if not to say cultish) aspects of the crypto enthusiast movement.