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Krugman criticizes bitcoin because it has no utility while consuming resources. As a counter-argument, they bring up Krugman's habit of flying on airplanes. O

Krugman criticizes bitcoin because it has no utility while consuming resources. As a counter-argument, they bring up Krugman's habit of flying on airplanes. Okay, so that argument proves one thing only: You have no real counter-argument. Just admit it. Back when I used to trade stocks, I discovered an unnerving psychological problem with it: No matter the news related to the respective company, having $100,000 riding on it makes you a cheerleader. I was holding Merck when the Vioxx scandal came out, and I somehow tried to justify that to myself--no matter how many people it killed. I think this phenomenon is common. Okay, so you own worthless hash strings, and because you paid real money for them, you're their cheerleader. When you sell, you'll be their detractor. That always happens, too.

RickHull 13y ago
> Krugman criticizes bitcoin because it has no utility while consuming resources. Does he? Aren't you completely ignoring the utility of the payment network?
- timr 13y ago
  What "payment network"? In its current state, Bitcoin is practically illiquid -- almost nobody takes it for payment, and it's extremely difficult to exchange for other currencies. Worst of all, the volatility of the Bitcoin market make it a bad place to store wealth. Without the guarantee of price stability, you have to be extremely risk-tolerant to trade in the stuff at any volume.
dnautics 13y ago
Nonsense, I sold my bit coin and kept true to my belief in its long term viability. I'm about to buy back in so its bad for me to root for it but here I am. Also I have no love for big pharma (don't believe me, check out my profile) but what Merck did with Vioxx was 100% correct. It voluntarily recalled it ahead of the fda as soon as the risk became statistically significant in the trial set, which if you understand statistics, overestimates risk (because if you dont wait till the predetermined experimental end you selectively trap upwards random walks).

RickHull 13y ago

> Krugman criticizes bitcoin because it has no utility while consuming resources. Does he? Aren't you completely ignoring the utility of the payment network?

timr 13y ago
What "payment network"? In its current state, Bitcoin is practically illiquid -- almost nobody takes it for payment, and it's extremely difficult to exchange for other currencies. Worst of all, the volatility of the Bitcoin market make it a bad place to store wealth. Without the guarantee of price stability, you have to be extremely risk-tolerant to trade in the stuff at any volume.

dnautics 13y ago

Nonsense, I sold my bit coin and kept true to my belief in its long term viability. I'm about to buy back in so its bad for me to root for it but here I am. Also I have no love for big pharma (don't believe me, check out my profile) but what Merck did with Vioxx was 100% correct. It voluntarily recalled it ahead of the fda as soon as the risk became statistically significant in the trial set, which if you understand statistics, overestimates risk (because if you dont wait till the predetermined experimental end you selectively trap upwards random walks).