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> Crypto people kept suggesting that crypto was a solution to an X problem while ignoring that a database was a better solution the problem. Only if you ignore

> Crypto people kept suggesting that crypto was a solution to an X problem while ignoring that a database was a better solution the problem. Only if you ignore the fact that a database (in traditional sense) doesn't solve the problem of decentralized peer to peer payments, which is the key differentiator of cryptocurrencies. > I’ve yet to hear any good use cases for crypto, and I’ve been asking for years on here. If you've been asking for years, I'm sure that someone, at some point, has told you about crypto's censorship resistance and international payments in places that are poorly served by the banking system for a variety of reasons. Would you like to hear more or have you already dismissed these as "not good use cases"? It would be nice to differentiate between use cases that don't apply to you personally, and use cases that don't apply to anyone.

maccard 2y ago
> Only if you ignore the fact that a database (in traditional sense) doesn't solve the problem of decentralized peer to peer payments, which is the key differentiator of cryptocurrencies. And the point that the useful cases cede to make a useful product. The thing that is a _feature_ of a cryptocurrency is why people don't use it. I've had this debate dozens of times on here. > If you've been asking for years, I'm sure that someone, at some point, has told you about crypto's censorship resistance and international payments in places that are poorly served by the banking system for a variety of reasons. You know what else solves that? Cash and Western Union. And it has done for a long, long time.
- dns_snek 2y ago
  > The thing that is a _feature_ of a cryptocurrency is why people don't use it. People do, in fact, use them. Is it a popular payment method in western countries? No, but do some people use it? Yes, they do. For privileged people, decentralization is usually a serious flaw. For others, it's an extremely important characteristic that lets them transact at all. The world isn't black and white, and people have use cases that are different from yours. You're being self-centered, and that's okay, but perhaps you should factor it into your mental model before making sweeping statements in front of a global audience. > You know what else solves that? Cash and Western Union. And it has done for a long, long time. Not nearly as well, or there wouldn't be anyone using cryptocurrencies for that purpose. You could make identical boring, bad-faith arguments about AI products. I think 99.99% of all "AI" products available today are completely useless - to me - but I don't go around proclaiming that all of AI is completely useless, and that all of its problem areas are better solved by statistics and "if" statements. Don't mistake your own privilege, ignorance, and lack of imagination with the lack of real-world applications.
  - maccard 2y ago
    > For privileged people, > You're being self-centered, and that's okay, but perhaps you should factor it into your mental model before making sweeping statements in front of a global audience. > but I don't go around proclaiming that all of AI is completely useless, and that all of its problem areas are better solved by statistics and "if" statements. > Don't mistake your own privilege, ignorance, and lack of imagination with the lack of real-world applications. If you can't make your point without making sniping attacks about my character, then this isn't a conversation I want to continue having.
    - dns_snek 2y ago
      Let's go through them: > For privileged people, Privileged person is anyone living in a western country who hasn't had to deal with censorship. I consider myself to be a privileged person in that regard. That's not an attack on anyone's character. > You're being self-centered That's anyone who fails to consider use cases other than their own. I wasn't speaking to your character, It was a description of your reply, not your character, because it contained sweeping statements that only apply to certain groups of people. > but I don't go around proclaiming that all of AI is completely useless, and that all of its problem areas are better solved by statistics and "if" statements. That's not an attack on anyone? > Don't mistake your own privilege, ignorance, and lack of imagination with the lack of real-world applications. I've explained that privilege isn't an attack on anyone's character. As for the rest, sorry, but which words am I supposed to use when someone denies that a problem is real (which fair enough, I'll elaborate), later admits that there are other services that solve the same problem, but they still want to claim that there are no problems that the obscure product is solving, despite that product having real-world users who are using it for that exact problem?

maccard 2y ago

> Only if you ignore the fact that a database (in traditional sense) doesn't solve the problem of decentralized peer to peer payments, which is the key differentiator of cryptocurrencies. And the point that the useful cases cede to make a useful product. The thing that is a _feature_ of a cryptocurrency is why people don't use it. I've had this debate dozens of times on here. > If you've been asking for years, I'm sure that someone, at some point, has told you about crypto's censorship resistance and international payments in places that are poorly served by the banking system for a variety of reasons. You know what else solves that? Cash and Western Union. And it has done for a long, long time.

dns_snek 2y ago
> The thing that is a _feature_ of a cryptocurrency is why people don't use it. People do, in fact, use them. Is it a popular payment method in western countries? No, but do some people use it? Yes, they do. For privileged people, decentralization is usually a serious flaw. For others, it's an extremely important characteristic that lets them transact at all. The world isn't black and white, and people have use cases that are different from yours. You're being self-centered, and that's okay, but perhaps you should factor it into your mental model before making sweeping statements in front of a global audience. > You know what else solves that? Cash and Western Union. And it has done for a long, long time. Not nearly as well, or there wouldn't be anyone using cryptocurrencies for that purpose. You could make identical boring, bad-faith arguments about AI products. I think 99.99% of all "AI" products available today are completely useless - to me - but I don't go around proclaiming that all of AI is completely useless, and that all of its problem areas are better solved by statistics and "if" statements. Don't mistake your own privilege, ignorance, and lack of imagination with the lack of real-world applications.
- maccard 2y ago
  > For privileged people, > You're being self-centered, and that's okay, but perhaps you should factor it into your mental model before making sweeping statements in front of a global audience. > but I don't go around proclaiming that all of AI is completely useless, and that all of its problem areas are better solved by statistics and "if" statements. > Don't mistake your own privilege, ignorance, and lack of imagination with the lack of real-world applications. If you can't make your point without making sniping attacks about my character, then this isn't a conversation I want to continue having.
  - dns_snek 2y ago
    Let's go through them: > For privileged people, Privileged person is anyone living in a western country who hasn't had to deal with censorship. I consider myself to be a privileged person in that regard. That's not an attack on anyone's character. > You're being self-centered That's anyone who fails to consider use cases other than their own. I wasn't speaking to your character, It was a description of your reply, not your character, because it contained sweeping statements that only apply to certain groups of people. > but I don't go around proclaiming that all of AI is completely useless, and that all of its problem areas are better solved by statistics and "if" statements. That's not an attack on anyone? > Don't mistake your own privilege, ignorance, and lack of imagination with the lack of real-world applications. I've explained that privilege isn't an attack on anyone's character. As for the rest, sorry, but which words am I supposed to use when someone denies that a problem is real (which fair enough, I'll elaborate), later admits that there are other services that solve the same problem, but they still want to claim that there are no problems that the obscure product is solving, despite that product having real-world users who are using it for that exact problem?