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Really great and easy to understand slideshow about the history of currencies and how they work all in relation to how Bitcoin fits into the worlds current mone

Really great and easy to understand slideshow about the history of currencies and how they work all in relation to how Bitcoin fits into the worlds current monetary systems / problems!

scarmig 14y ago
Might be easy to understand, but it's horrifically wrong, which in my book precludes "really great." Its accounting of the origin of money is totally devoid of historical fact or perspective. That can't be stated strongly enough: people who are interested in empirical findings instead of ideology have looked into the origin of money. This has been an area of research for at least a century, and there's not a bit of evidence that money developed as the slideshow claims.
- kyledrake 14y ago
  If money does not originate as a decentralized system, then how can we explain the fact that Bitcoin has become so successful? If it works for Bitcoin, why can't it work for gold? My opinions are not ideological: They are based on events that have occurred throughout history, be it in large macroeconomic environments or 50,000 person prison camps, or Bitcoin's rise itself. There is a lot of both current and historical evidence to suggest that currencies can form in a decentralized manner. The fact that there was a long-standing decentralized gold standard in China is highly documented and written about. We can debate about the earliest origins, but that is not my intention. What we arrived at is the system I am describing, which is not a system that is chosen by a government or an ideology, but the one that is chosen organically by freely thinking individuals. There is a nature and a pattern to it, and I am trying to understand and describe that.
  - djur 14y ago
    I don't think it's proven yet that Bitcoin is or will be successful as a currency.
    - redblacktree 14y ago
      It's successful in that you can use it to buy (a very limited range) of things. Certainly not as a general purpose currency. I doubt that any individual anywhere could spend bitcoin only (i.e. no exchanges into other currencies) and have his needs met.
  - gnaritas 14y ago
    > then how can we explain the fact that Bitcoin has become so successful? It hasn't yet. Bitcoin is still in the barely anyone knows about it experimental stage; it hasn't come close to being successful yet.
  - betterunix 14y ago
    "If money does not originate as a decentralized system, then how can we explain the fact that Bitcoin has become so successful?" Quick thought experiment for you: if Bitcoin exchanges were to disappear overnight, what would happen to Bitcoin?

Really great and easy to understand slideshow about the history of currencies and how they work all in relation to how Bitcoin fits into the worlds current monetary systems / problems!

scarmig 14y ago

Might be easy to understand, but it's horrifically wrong, which in my book precludes "really great." Its accounting of the origin of money is totally devoid of historical fact or perspective. That can't be stated strongly enough: people who are interested in empirical findings instead of ideology have looked into the origin of money. This has been an area of research for at least a century, and there's not a bit of evidence that money developed as the slideshow claims.

kyledrake 14y ago
If money does not originate as a decentralized system, then how can we explain the fact that Bitcoin has become so successful? If it works for Bitcoin, why can't it work for gold? My opinions are not ideological: They are based on events that have occurred throughout history, be it in large macroeconomic environments or 50,000 person prison camps, or Bitcoin's rise itself. There is a lot of both current and historical evidence to suggest that currencies can form in a decentralized manner. The fact that there was a long-standing decentralized gold standard in China is highly documented and written about. We can debate about the earliest origins, but that is not my intention. What we arrived at is the system I am describing, which is not a system that is chosen by a government or an ideology, but the one that is chosen organically by freely thinking individuals. There is a nature and a pattern to it, and I am trying to understand and describe that.
- djur 14y ago
  I don't think it's proven yet that Bitcoin is or will be successful as a currency.
  - redblacktree 14y ago
    It's successful in that you can use it to buy (a very limited range) of things. Certainly not as a general purpose currency. I doubt that any individual anywhere could spend bitcoin only (i.e. no exchanges into other currencies) and have his needs met.
- gnaritas 14y ago
  > then how can we explain the fact that Bitcoin has become so successful? It hasn't yet. Bitcoin is still in the barely anyone knows about it experimental stage; it hasn't come close to being successful yet.
- betterunix 14y ago
  "If money does not originate as a decentralized system, then how can we explain the fact that Bitcoin has become so successful?" Quick thought experiment for you: if Bitcoin exchanges were to disappear overnight, what would happen to Bitcoin?