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Buterin reminds me a little of string theorists in physics. There is a lot of intellect but they have chosen to chase something that doesn't produce anything re

Buterin reminds me a little of string theorists in physics. There is a lot of intellect but they have chosen to chase something that doesn't produce anything really useful despite a ton of effort.

BSEdlMMldESB 3y ago
I remember a long time ago, on a talk by Benoit Mandelbrot, who visited my university in what may have well been a "Farewell Tour" that towards the end he says: but the only "practical" application is gaming financial markets, and proceeded to talk about his work in this area; or something like this, my memory is a bit vague. I remember feeling disappointment.
xvector 3y ago
On the other hand, we have seen an infusion of cash into modern cryptography thanks to this space, which is fairly positive. I personally don't mind.
Mistletoe 3y ago
Ethereum may not be useful to you but it is very useful to me and many others. It will become even more useful in the future as people learn what happens when your money is centralized to one particular government, based on nothing at all, and just keeps getting printed more and more of. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BOGMBASE https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BOGMBASE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debasement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debasement I think crypto solving this issue is definitely of value. How many wars were started by a government debasing their currency and having to start a war to fix it? I'd say a lot of them.
- kinakomochidayo 3y ago
  Yup. One thing that I find respectable about Ethereum, contrary to what many Bitcoiners say, is that it’s always trying to find the minimum viable issuance, with less and less issuance, that makes the chain work effectively. Bitcoin on the other hand, was a one time deal with the 21 million, but the original economics thought up by Satoshi was forever changed after the blocksize was constrained in 2017, and now, there’s a high risk that there won’t be enough transaction fees in the future to support Bitcoin, even with Lightning Network.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  > I think crypto solving this issue is definitely of value. I am far from convinced that cryptocurrencies are actually a solution to this, but even if it is -- at what price? Not all solutions are worth the cost. I am not saying cryptocurrency would fail this test, but I am saying that it's a mistake to proceed without a genuine cost/benefit analysis.
- rqtwteye 3y ago
  I bet crypto will have the same problems any other type of money has once it gets widely used. I don’t see anything in crypto that can solve our current problems.
- potamic 3y ago
  Wasn't ethereum rolled back at one point? How is that different to centralized control by one particular entity?

Buterin reminds me a little of string theorists in physics. There is a lot of intellect but they have chosen to chase something that doesn't produce anything really useful despite a ton of effort.

BSEdlMMldESB 3y ago

I remember a long time ago, on a talk by Benoit Mandelbrot, who visited my university in what may have well been a "Farewell Tour" that towards the end he says: but the only "practical" application is gaming financial markets, and proceeded to talk about his work in this area; or something like this, my memory is a bit vague. I remember feeling disappointment.

xvector 3y ago

On the other hand, we have seen an infusion of cash into modern cryptography thanks to this space, which is fairly positive. I personally don't mind.

Mistletoe 3y ago

Ethereum may not be useful to you but it is very useful to me and many others. It will become even more useful in the future as people learn what happens when your money is centralized to one particular government, based on nothing at all, and just keeps getting printed more and more of. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BOGMBASE https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/BOGMBASE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debasement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debasement I think crypto solving this issue is definitely of value. How many wars were started by a government debasing their currency and having to start a war to fix it? I'd say a lot of them.

kinakomochidayo 3y ago
Yup. One thing that I find respectable about Ethereum, contrary to what many Bitcoiners say, is that it’s always trying to find the minimum viable issuance, with less and less issuance, that makes the chain work effectively. Bitcoin on the other hand, was a one time deal with the 21 million, but the original economics thought up by Satoshi was forever changed after the blocksize was constrained in 2017, and now, there’s a high risk that there won’t be enough transaction fees in the future to support Bitcoin, even with Lightning Network.
JohnFen 3y ago
> I think crypto solving this issue is definitely of value. I am far from convinced that cryptocurrencies are actually a solution to this, but even if it is -- at what price? Not all solutions are worth the cost. I am not saying cryptocurrency would fail this test, but I am saying that it's a mistake to proceed without a genuine cost/benefit analysis.
rqtwteye 3y ago
I bet crypto will have the same problems any other type of money has once it gets widely used. I don’t see anything in crypto that can solve our current problems.
potamic 3y ago
Wasn't ethereum rolled back at one point? How is that different to centralized control by one particular entity?