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Another test is whether kids use it w/o being forced to. My kids are obsessed with both MidJourney and ChatGPT. They have found use cases w/o any profit motive

Another test is whether kids use it w/o being forced to. My kids are obsessed with both MidJourney and ChatGPT. They have found use cases w/o any profit motive and w/o any outside pressure. No amount of Blockchain "Webinars" would have convinced my kids to use the blockchain.

viscanti 3y ago
If blockchain did fulfill the claims of it revolutionizing the world of finance, it's still unlikely your kids would have become obsessed and regular users of it. If room temperature and pressure superconducting or nuclear fusion became viable, your kids might also be unlikely to play around with them on their own. Kids apparently love Roblox and most adults think the metaverse is dead. What kids like seems pretty orthogonal to what is legit or snake oil.
- TuringNYC 3y ago
  Point taken, but how about these: - My mom cant figure out Blockchain either - My sister (doctor) and brother (3 degrees) cant figure out Blockchain either, because they are too afraid of scanning the wrong QR code and having their balance drained My mom, sister, and brother all use ChatGPT. My brother uses it actively for work.
  - pdntspa 3y ago
    You can dig deeper.... what exactly are the real-world applications of an immutable transaction ledger? I can't think of very many. Let alone a bunch of kids.
    - somenameforme 3y ago
      Decentralized is critical to the recipe as well. 'Immutable' centralized ledgers are largely a non-starter because the scenarios you want to use block chain for are zero-trust type scenarios. With centralization, the promise of immutability holds exactly as long as it's convenient for the centralizing power. In any case, defining public use or accessibility as the metric of relevance of something is quite illogical. You end up with countless absurdities like relativity being worthless and CocaCola being the most relevant invention ever.
    - pepa65 3y ago
      Immutable decentralized public ledgers could have many usages, but the biggest problem is: who is authorized to add new entries? There are different answers to this question depending on use case, but it is really the crux of the matter.
  - CyberDildonics 3y ago
    I don't blame them since the stakes are much higher, but it probably doesn't help to say "they can't figure out blockchain" because that doesn't make any sense. Which 'blockchain'? Blockchain is a singular noun, that's like saying "they can't figure out phone".
  - viscanti 3y ago
    Sure. I'm not saying Blockchain fulfilled it's promise. I'm just not convinced that every major new thing will be immediately adopted by kids. It seems like it's an orthogonal thing.
  - JuanPosadas 3y ago
    > it without being forced to I think this is an important detail. A lot of "forced into it" numbers will get presented as "happy users" in various unfair metrics comparisons.
- deanCommie 3y ago
  > Kids apparently love Roblox and most adults think the metaverse is dead. Can you define what a metaverse is in this case and how is it different from what we used to call an MMORPG? Roblox involves no block chain and no VR, so what exactly is "metaverse-y" about it?
  - viscanti 3y ago
    Anyone can create and monetize their content in a world where a user's character can access all of the content. MMORPGs generally seem to be built by a single developer who controls the whole experience. They're also generally a single game instead of thousands of mini games.
- patrakov 3y ago
  > If room temperature and pressure superconducting or nuclear fusion became viable, your kids might also be unlikely to play around with them on their own. I disagree. Kids will turn anything not too abstract into toys. An improvised radioactive sample (actually some neon indicator bulbs in a box) + Geiger counter brought by my parents = a version of a hide-and-seek game from my own past. Also, a model maglev train is something so obvious that I am sure such toys will appear immediately once the technology becomes viable.
jamilton 3y ago
Not a great test, teens in the last few years sometimes get into crypto.
- YetAnotherNick 3y ago
  Only for the investment purpose by thinking they will get rich quick. I have never seen anyone using crypto other than that. Author specifically said not for profit.
- arcticbull 3y ago
  Trading it on a centralized exchange to speculate on its future value doesn’t involve using it at all, it’s just a MySQL database at Coinbase tracking your bids and balances. I’d wager the biggest non-speculative use case is pig butchering scams and ransomware.
  - girvo 3y ago
    > I’d wager the biggest non-speculative use case is pig butchering scams and ransomware. Probably, but drugs are also a big use-case (and I don't just mean retail, its used in wholesale for transferring sums of money internationally to buy precursors, for example)
whimsicalism 3y ago
Plenty of kids I know use the blockchain, for their fake ids I think it is the backing financial infrastructure (crypto knowledgeable friend purchases ids and redistributes), for drug purchases
Turskarama 3y ago
Midjourney and ChatGPT are both free to try, if someone gave me free bitcoin I might have made a wallet.
- pharmakom 3y ago
  They had this in the early days. Bitcoin Faucet
  - pepa65 3y ago
    Sigh... I "parked" my free bitcoin in the wrong place. Didn't know yet about just holding on to the private key and let it sit on the chain.

viscanti 3y ago

If blockchain did fulfill the claims of it revolutionizing the world of finance, it's still unlikely your kids would have become obsessed and regular users of it. If room temperature and pressure superconducting or nuclear fusion became viable, your kids might also be unlikely to play around with them on their own. Kids apparently love Roblox and most adults think the metaverse is dead. What kids like seems pretty orthogonal to what is legit or snake oil.

TuringNYC 3y ago
Point taken, but how about these: - My mom cant figure out Blockchain either - My sister (doctor) and brother (3 degrees) cant figure out Blockchain either, because they are too afraid of scanning the wrong QR code and having their balance drained My mom, sister, and brother all use ChatGPT. My brother uses it actively for work.
- pdntspa 3y ago
  You can dig deeper.... what exactly are the real-world applications of an immutable transaction ledger? I can't think of very many. Let alone a bunch of kids.
  - somenameforme 3y ago
    Decentralized is critical to the recipe as well. 'Immutable' centralized ledgers are largely a non-starter because the scenarios you want to use block chain for are zero-trust type scenarios. With centralization, the promise of immutability holds exactly as long as it's convenient for the centralizing power. In any case, defining public use or accessibility as the metric of relevance of something is quite illogical. You end up with countless absurdities like relativity being worthless and CocaCola being the most relevant invention ever.
  - pepa65 3y ago
    Immutable decentralized public ledgers could have many usages, but the biggest problem is: who is authorized to add new entries? There are different answers to this question depending on use case, but it is really the crux of the matter.
- CyberDildonics 3y ago
  I don't blame them since the stakes are much higher, but it probably doesn't help to say "they can't figure out blockchain" because that doesn't make any sense. Which 'blockchain'? Blockchain is a singular noun, that's like saying "they can't figure out phone".
- viscanti 3y ago
  Sure. I'm not saying Blockchain fulfilled it's promise. I'm just not convinced that every major new thing will be immediately adopted by kids. It seems like it's an orthogonal thing.
- JuanPosadas 3y ago
  > it without being forced to I think this is an important detail. A lot of "forced into it" numbers will get presented as "happy users" in various unfair metrics comparisons.
deanCommie 3y ago
> Kids apparently love Roblox and most adults think the metaverse is dead. Can you define what a metaverse is in this case and how is it different from what we used to call an MMORPG? Roblox involves no block chain and no VR, so what exactly is "metaverse-y" about it?
- viscanti 3y ago
  Anyone can create and monetize their content in a world where a user's character can access all of the content. MMORPGs generally seem to be built by a single developer who controls the whole experience. They're also generally a single game instead of thousands of mini games.
patrakov 3y ago
> If room temperature and pressure superconducting or nuclear fusion became viable, your kids might also be unlikely to play around with them on their own. I disagree. Kids will turn anything not too abstract into toys. An improvised radioactive sample (actually some neon indicator bulbs in a box) + Geiger counter brought by my parents = a version of a hide-and-seek game from my own past. Also, a model maglev train is something so obvious that I am sure such toys will appear immediately once the technology becomes viable.

jamilton 3y ago

Not a great test, teens in the last few years sometimes get into crypto.

YetAnotherNick 3y ago
Only for the investment purpose by thinking they will get rich quick. I have never seen anyone using crypto other than that. Author specifically said not for profit.
arcticbull 3y ago
Trading it on a centralized exchange to speculate on its future value doesn’t involve using it at all, it’s just a MySQL database at Coinbase tracking your bids and balances. I’d wager the biggest non-speculative use case is pig butchering scams and ransomware.
- girvo 3y ago
  > I’d wager the biggest non-speculative use case is pig butchering scams and ransomware. Probably, but drugs are also a big use-case (and I don't just mean retail, its used in wholesale for transferring sums of money internationally to buy precursors, for example)

whimsicalism 3y ago

Plenty of kids I know use the blockchain, for their fake ids I think it is the backing financial infrastructure (crypto knowledgeable friend purchases ids and redistributes), for drug purchases

Turskarama 3y ago

Midjourney and ChatGPT are both free to try, if someone gave me free bitcoin I might have made a wallet.

pharmakom 3y ago
They had this in the early days. Bitcoin Faucet
- pepa65 3y ago
  Sigh... I "parked" my free bitcoin in the wrong place. Didn't know yet about just holding on to the private key and let it sit on the chain.