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It wasn't missed, I still remember checking the sourceforge source circa 2009. I was not really that interested in it and I am still not. https://news.ycombina

It wasn't missed, I still remember checking the sourceforge source circa 2009. I was not really that interested in it and I am still not. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=599852 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=599852

fastball 5y ago
So... you're admitting that you are a bad predictor of future trends?
- johnnycerberus 5y ago
  We cannot predict future trends in technology, if we could, then Bitcoin would have today 0 value because it is boosted only by FOMO (fear of missing out) feelings, not because it is useful. In 2009, I was starting with Scala, which had functional features way beyond what was achievable in other languages at that time. Scala was a game changer, it rode later on the Big Data (Spark, Kafka) wave (circa 2015). Many academic things that Scala proved to be production-ready were backported after to Java, JS, etc. I have built systems with Scala that were actually useful for people and organisations, while Bitcoin as a technology... I am just glad that I have predicted worse in this case.
  - moreshadow 5y ago
    Bitcoin's value partially derives from permissionless transactions on an immutable ledger, if you'd actually been following it from 2009 you'd know that (but you don't). > Bitcoin would have today 0 value because it is boosted only by FOMO (fear of missing out) An incredibly tired take (but it's cute that you spelled out "FOMO" and abbreviated it). Compared to 2009, 2021 is the future, where the value of BTC is not 0. We don't have to speculate incorrectly as you do when you say "Bitcoin would have today 0 value," we know what value it is. You completely failed to predict the effect of BTC and cryptocurrency on the global financial market, which supports your idea that "we cannot predict future trends." We can make educated guesses though.
    - johnnycerberus 5y ago
      > Bitcoin's value derives from permissionless transactions on an immutable ledger The imbecilic way of saying supply and demand?
      - fastball 5y ago
        No, that is a fairly straightforward explanation of Bitcoin's utility. Bitcoin did two fundamental things: - it was actually useful for people transacting things - it introduced the world to blockchain as a general technology, which at this point many new things (which people find useful in ways more complex and more varied than the above) have been built atop. The idea that BTC would be worth $0 without speculation is just poor reasoning. It misunderstands the past, ignores the present, and doesn't even look to the future, so not surprised you didn't pick up on this particular trend.
      - moreshadow 5y ago
        No, supply and demand is an economic theory, it would be imbecilic to confuse the two, the way you did. Do you even know what a "permissionless transaction" or an "immutable ledger" are? Do you believe Bitcoin has achieved both?
        johnnycerberus 5y ago
        Every "permissionless transaction" is an action of supplying and demanding, the "immutable ledger" is the proof that the action happened in the past. The price of Bitcoin, as the price of anything in life, is determined by supply and demand. Stop glorifying stuff using specialized language because people will actually believe you are the opposite of gifted. Reading "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman will do you good. The price of Bitcoin will remain forever volatile as the system is inherently flawed and nobody has faith in it. Usually I block trolls, but in the lack of such a functionality on HN take this comment as my last interaction with you.
        deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
- bdcravens 5y ago
  Only if by trends you mean things that can be traded on unregulated markets.
  - fastball 5y ago
    Not really. By trends I mean... trends. Bitcoin and Blockchain are clearly one of the biggest trends of the past decade, it's not even close.
stackbutterflow 5y ago
From the thread: " Well this is an exceptionally cute idea, but there is absolutely no way that anyone is going to have any faith in this currency." I love reading these sort of things from the past.
- johnnycerberus 5y ago
  When Elon was doing the leap of faith, he kind of stopped somewhere in the middle. I don't know, just saying. Parent arguments still hold.
- agitator 5y ago
  I mean, has that sentiment changed? It's still a cute pump and dump scheme that went viral.
  - moreshadow 5y ago
    I applaud the originality of the statement, but there's a good deal of trust in the cryptocurrency ecosystem compared to 2009. I understand if you're personally still a skeptic.
    - thehappypm 5y ago
      The comment is still valid, I think. You can't really trust crypto to hold its value in any way that a currency should. To use cryptocurrencies you need to tolerate anything from a 50% drop to a doubling, all in extremely short time scales. If that's what trust means to you, that's interesting.
      - JxLS-cpgbe0 5y ago
        Compared to 2009?! You don't trust Coinbase in 2021 any more than you did Cryptsy in 2013? PS if you want to do the whole "volatile prices!" fear mongering you can do WAY better than 50% price drops. You also accidentally criticize the US dollar here, USD saw a 30% decline in the early 2000s and analysts predict a possible decline of 30-35% in the broad dollar index soon. Is that how a currency "should" hold its value?

fastball 5y ago

So... you're admitting that you are a bad predictor of future trends?

johnnycerberus 5y ago
We cannot predict future trends in technology, if we could, then Bitcoin would have today 0 value because it is boosted only by FOMO (fear of missing out) feelings, not because it is useful. In 2009, I was starting with Scala, which had functional features way beyond what was achievable in other languages at that time. Scala was a game changer, it rode later on the Big Data (Spark, Kafka) wave (circa 2015). Many academic things that Scala proved to be production-ready were backported after to Java, JS, etc. I have built systems with Scala that were actually useful for people and organisations, while Bitcoin as a technology... I am just glad that I have predicted worse in this case.
- moreshadow 5y ago
  Bitcoin's value partially derives from permissionless transactions on an immutable ledger, if you'd actually been following it from 2009 you'd know that (but you don't). > Bitcoin would have today 0 value because it is boosted only by FOMO (fear of missing out) An incredibly tired take (but it's cute that you spelled out "FOMO" and abbreviated it). Compared to 2009, 2021 is the future, where the value of BTC is not 0. We don't have to speculate incorrectly as you do when you say "Bitcoin would have today 0 value," we know what value it is. You completely failed to predict the effect of BTC and cryptocurrency on the global financial market, which supports your idea that "we cannot predict future trends." We can make educated guesses though.
  - johnnycerberus 5y ago
    > Bitcoin's value derives from permissionless transactions on an immutable ledger The imbecilic way of saying supply and demand?
    - fastball 5y ago
      No, that is a fairly straightforward explanation of Bitcoin's utility. Bitcoin did two fundamental things: - it was actually useful for people transacting things - it introduced the world to blockchain as a general technology, which at this point many new things (which people find useful in ways more complex and more varied than the above) have been built atop. The idea that BTC would be worth $0 without speculation is just poor reasoning. It misunderstands the past, ignores the present, and doesn't even look to the future, so not surprised you didn't pick up on this particular trend.
    - moreshadow 5y ago
      No, supply and demand is an economic theory, it would be imbecilic to confuse the two, the way you did. Do you even know what a "permissionless transaction" or an "immutable ledger" are? Do you believe Bitcoin has achieved both?
      - johnnycerberus 5y ago
        Every "permissionless transaction" is an action of supplying and demanding, the "immutable ledger" is the proof that the action happened in the past. The price of Bitcoin, as the price of anything in life, is determined by supply and demand. Stop glorifying stuff using specialized language because people will actually believe you are the opposite of gifted. Reading "Thinking Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman will do you good. The price of Bitcoin will remain forever volatile as the system is inherently flawed and nobody has faith in it. Usually I block trolls, but in the lack of such a functionality on HN take this comment as my last interaction with you.
        deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
bdcravens 5y ago
Only if by trends you mean things that can be traded on unregulated markets.
- fastball 5y ago
  Not really. By trends I mean... trends. Bitcoin and Blockchain are clearly one of the biggest trends of the past decade, it's not even close.

stackbutterflow 5y ago

From the thread: " Well this is an exceptionally cute idea, but there is absolutely no way that anyone is going to have any faith in this currency." I love reading these sort of things from the past.

johnnycerberus 5y ago
When Elon was doing the leap of faith, he kind of stopped somewhere in the middle. I don't know, just saying. Parent arguments still hold.
agitator 5y ago
I mean, has that sentiment changed? It's still a cute pump and dump scheme that went viral.
- moreshadow 5y ago
  I applaud the originality of the statement, but there's a good deal of trust in the cryptocurrency ecosystem compared to 2009. I understand if you're personally still a skeptic.
  - thehappypm 5y ago
    The comment is still valid, I think. You can't really trust crypto to hold its value in any way that a currency should. To use cryptocurrencies you need to tolerate anything from a 50% drop to a doubling, all in extremely short time scales. If that's what trust means to you, that's interesting.
    - JxLS-cpgbe0 5y ago
      Compared to 2009?! You don't trust Coinbase in 2021 any more than you did Cryptsy in 2013? PS if you want to do the whole "volatile prices!" fear mongering you can do WAY better than 50% price drops. You also accidentally criticize the US dollar here, USD saw a 30% decline in the early 2000s and analysts predict a possible decline of 30-35% in the broad dollar index soon. Is that how a currency "should" hold its value?