4 ms·

I'm surprised the writing did not mention cash. Was the first thing I thought of. Digital transactions can be toyed with, but cash has no record, and no automat

• RandomLensman 5y ago
  No automated means, but if you get a receipt then you could actually try to reverse it (depending on local laws etc.). So even there little finality in a lot of everyday situations.
  • audleman 5y ago
    > if you get a receipt then you could actually try to reverse it Store puts up a 'No returns' sign, you have finality.
    • oblio 5y ago
      In many places that's not enough. For example if they knowingly sell you defective stuff or if medicine is tainted, etc., there are laws that override such a policy.
• beaned 5y ago
  Yeah, this bothered me, too. His choice of definition for payments is unclear because it leaves out that very obvious and pervasive method. He also describes a Bitcoin transaction as not being "final" because it was seized by the government. This isn't really what most people mean by finality. So you never really know what he means throughout the article due to imprecision and it comes off as not compelling.
  • alisonkisk 5y ago
    What does finality mean? When I get paid by credit credit card it's "final", because that transaction can't be cancelled, only a new transaction can be created to undo it without my consent. Patrick loves to write coyly, but his point is simple: If the government can find the money they can take it back from you. What he misses is that it only works if they can find the keys (or the next best thing -- your body).
    • beaned 5y ago
      Credit card transactions are reversed all the time.
  • e_y_ 5y ago
    In other news, death is not really final due to resuscitation, cloning, and ultimately, the theoretical reversability of time