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Why should I care if the teenage son of a wealthy banker in Switzerland wants to blow his Dad's money speculating on NFT's? How about the sons and daughter of w

by vanusa 5y ago

Why should I care if the teenage son of a wealthy banker in Switzerland wants to blow his Dad's money speculating on NFT's? How about the sons and daughter of wealthy Arabs in the oil countries? Surely it doesn't matter if I, as a member of the Silicon Valley elite, take them for a ride and teach them a valuable lesson while profiting handsomely? Just remember, when you're playing with this kind of a crowd, this late in the game -- it's all about being the last person holding the bag. Do you know that the phrase means? And do you want to be that person? I've been pretty skeptical until I had a recent epiphany brought on by a16z's enthusiasm for the market. Which is utterly and transparently deranged, BTW. Either that, or very cynically and skillfully devised to promote businesses with the specific intent of fleecing down brave, optimistic people very much like yourself. I'm not exaggerating here; just look a the opening paragraph of one of their recent pronouncements on this subject: https://future.a16z.com/the-future-of-work-daos-crypto-networks/ https://future.a16z.com/the-future-of-work-daos-crypto-netwo...

boxmonster 5y ago
I've read those. It's kind of beautiful the way they paint the glorious future where every man and woman is in control of their own destiny. I remember similar promises in the dot com bubble. By the way, both Andreeson and I made a lot of money in that bubble and hung on to it by being smart about it (I have no affiliation, we were just both there) while others lost their shirts. I'm wondering why I'm sitting on the sidelines scoffing when I could get into the game. I'm not saying I'd be any good at playing, but you can't win if you don't play and like I said in another comment, I think I'd be playing with the house and that would give me an edge. I don't, I'm just thinking out loud in HN new that no one except a few will ever read.
- vanusa 5y ago
  It's kind of beautiful the way they paint the glorious future where every man and woman is in control of their own destiny. "When Sir Isaac Newton was asked about the continuance of the rising of South Sea stock... He answered 'that he could not calculate the madness of people'." He is also quoted as stating, "I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sea_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sea_Company

by vanusa 5y ago

boxmonster 5y ago

I've read those. It's kind of beautiful the way they paint the glorious future where every man and woman is in control of their own destiny. I remember similar promises in the dot com bubble. By the way, both Andreeson and I made a lot of money in that bubble and hung on to it by being smart about it (I have no affiliation, we were just both there) while others lost their shirts. I'm wondering why I'm sitting on the sidelines scoffing when I could get into the game. I'm not saying I'd be any good at playing, but you can't win if you don't play and like I said in another comment, I think I'd be playing with the house and that would give me an edge. I don't, I'm just thinking out loud in HN new that no one except a few will ever read.

vanusa 5y ago
It's kind of beautiful the way they paint the glorious future where every man and woman is in control of their own destiny. "When Sir Isaac Newton was asked about the continuance of the rising of South Sea stock... He answered 'that he could not calculate the madness of people'." He is also quoted as stating, "I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sea_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Sea_Company