Initiated BTC discussion last night at dinner - of 5 ppl only 1 said "nah"

[Possum577]

So I introduced the topic of Bitcoin last night with some colleagues I was having dinner with. I don't usually do this, it's hard to gauge what people's reaction will be.

Of the 5 people I was talking to:

• 1 person new of it although he had a lot of facts wrong
• 3 people listened, and
• 1 person asked skeptical questions and then concluded "I think I'll stick with my fiat"

Only 1 of 5 with immediate rejection of the idea is a pretty good result from my very scientific poll!

The guy who was skeptical asked "what gives it value?" To which I just replied supply and demand. I didn't want to get into some debate about what gives fiat currency value (although maybe he should be educated on how money is created from nothing in fiat systems).

Can each of you do us all a favor? This weekend, talk to at least 1 person about bitcoin. See if they're aware of it, accepting of the idea, or even using it.

If we all talk about it it will slowly become less foreign. We'll educate people. We'll help push adoption!

[Carlton Banks]

The guy who was skeptical asked "what gives it value?" To which I just replied supply and demand. I didn't want to get into some debate about what gives fiat currency value (although maybe he should be educated on how money is created from nothing in fiat systems).

The "nothing" from which money is created really cuts out the nonsense from the debate.

It's all nothing. All imaginary, even gold. Even gold. And that's not a problem; if anything, it's entirely necessary to the concept of money.


The whole point is that: if enough people pretend that something is money, it works. That automatically makes the thing more valuable than that thing is without "money" status.

It's all psychological, all in the mind. And it also just so happens to work. It just depends on how well people choose the thing to elevate to money status.

[Possum577]

Yeah, agreed. It just made it clear that he didn't have much thought or understanding of what makes any of our money valuable. Last night wasn't the time to debate or educate him (and risk making him feel bad for not knowing) but next time I'll have a good quick answer.

What wasn't discussed was the fact that Bitcoin can be considered an investment like stocks or bonds...something all these people were very familiar with.

[Possum577]

One other comment  mentioned by the skeptic was "there's no FDIC for Bitcoin!"

For those who don't know, the FDIC is the Federal Deposits Insurance Corporation, a US federally provided insurance agency to protect savings accounts from fraud or bankruptcy of the bank. It was created after the run on the banks in the Great Depression in the US.

Obviously he's right, there is no protection from "getting Goxed"...but there's no protection from stock market declines and this person absolutely invests in the market.

[Carlton Banks]

Yeah, agreed. It just made it clear that he didn't have much thought or understanding of what makes any of our money valuable. Last night wasn't the time to debate or educate him (and risk making him feel bad for not knowing) but next time I'll have a good quick answer.

I can empathise. Understanding it in the first place is a bit of a leap, but explaining it to others in a way they get it too is a whole other talent. And you're right, it can backfire.

What wasn't discussed was the fact that Bitcoin can be considered an investment like stocks or bonds...something all these people were very familiar with.

Which is a good starting point for helping to learn abut monetary theory to those with the motivation to do so. Any asset can be used as money, and if your colleagues can agree that Bitcoin is an asset, then that is a good foundation to understanding the concept of money.

One other comment  mentioned by the skeptic was "there's no FDIC for Bitcoin!"

Another one that cuts to the heart of the issue: you don't need FDIC for Bitcoin, because it operates with 100% reserves.

In essence, your bank only needs to insure your bank account deposit because your bank hasn't got all of your money. At least, not if everyone else wants theirs too at the same time. That's because they're typically running with less than 5% of the actual money that people have deposited with them.

[unamis76]

Can each of you do us all a favor? This weekend, talk to at least 1 person about bitcoin. See if they're aware of it, accepting of the idea, or even using it.

I've been doing this in the last few months with people that actually listen to me (and to some other people). I'm surprised you got those results after a talk during dinner. I haven't had a single person slightly embracing Bitcoin right out of the gate. However, I've managed to make people see Bitcoin differently and in the last week I've finally managed to get someone interested in owning some Bitcoin for the first time (the price spike helped, I guess)

Slowly shifting minds is what going to take us to the top, I think.

The guy who was skeptical asked "what gives it value?" To which I just replied supply and demand. I didn't want to get into some debate about what gives fiat currency value (although maybe he should be educated on how money is created from nothing in fiat systems).

The "nothing" from which money is created really cuts out the nonsense from the debate.

It's all nothing. All imaginary, even gold. Even gold. And that's not a problem; if anything, it's entirely necessary to the concept of money.


The whole point is that: if enough people pretend that something is money, it works. That automatically makes the thing more valuable than that thing is without "money" status.

It's all psychological, all in the mind. And it also just so happens to work. It just depends on how well people choose the thing to elevate to money status.

Best post I've seen in a while.

[franky1]

So I introduced the topic of Bitcoin last night with some colleagues I was having dinner with. I don't usually do this, it's hard to gauge what people's reaction will be.

Of the 5 people I was talking to:

• 1 person new of it although he had a lot of facts wrong
• 3 people listened, and
• 1 person asked skeptical questions and then concluded "I think I'll stick with my fiat"

Only 1 of 5 with immediate rejection of the idea is a pretty good result from my very scientific poll!

The guy who was skeptical asked "what gives it value?" To which I just replied supply and demand. I didn't want to get into some debate about what gives fiat currency value (although maybe he should be educated on how money is created from nothing in fiat systems).

Can each of you do us all a favor? This weekend, talk to at least 1 person about bitcoin. See if they're aware of it, accepting of the idea, or even using it.

If we all talk about it it will slowly become less foreign. We'll educate people. We'll help push adoption!

your answer to the skeptic.. was weak.

id of said, "the cost of supply, vs the demand of the limited production"

as just saying supply and demand.. can be put against water, food, anything really. which has no limit and low cost to create. so its not really explaining the high 'value' by being that vague..

but with all that said, not everyone is an investor and not everyone wants to buy another currency just to hold for a profit..
lets say your skeptic is american.. i bet he knows the Euro is a valid currency, but he see's no benefit in holding euro just for the sake of it.

untill you talk to the restaurant you had a dinner meeting in.. and got them to accept bitcoin.. to show the guy first hand how fast you paid for your meal.
telling him the restaurant or their bank does not store your name address or bank details, so no hacking / identity fraud risks later.

and then on your way out, you stop buy a grocery store that accepts bitcoin and you buy toilet roll, bread, milk and baked beans.. to show bitcoin can be used for everyday things.. that skeptic would see more reasons for him to use it.

but even then, even if shops in america accepted euro.. your skeptic would still prefer to stick with the dollar..
the short answer is that there is no single way to explain bitcoin. not everyone is an investor, not everyone wants the hassle of swapping currency just to hold.
not everyone wants to swap currencies just to spend on things they can buy with native currencies, your never going to please everyone.. which is why its
best to learn about the people you are talking to. and highlight the bitcoin aspects that actually mean something personal to them

[USB-S]

Can each of you do us all a favor? This weekend, talk to at least 1 person about bitcoin. See if they're aware of it, accepting of the idea, or even using it.

This weekend I'm going to try to introduce bitcoin to 3 of my friends.
What do you guys think, should I just lay the facts on the floor until they accept the fact, that bitcoin is far more superior, than any other means of exchange. What should I do if they are too ignorant and would just speak rubbish?

[franky1]

Can each of you do us all a favor? This weekend, talk to at least 1 person about bitcoin. See if they're aware of it, accepting of the idea, or even using it.

This weekend I'm going to try to introduce bitcoin to 3 of my friends.
What do you guys think, should I just lay the facts on the floor until they accept the fact, that bitcoin is far more superior, than any other means of exchange. What should I do if they are too ignorant and would just speak rubbish?

tell us a bit about your friends.. that way you can point out aspects of bitcoin that will 'it home' with them.

eg.. there is no point telling them that bitcoin is better then western union. if your 3 friends will and have never used or needed western union..

also do you have enough bitcoin your willing to spend on the meal..? look for places in your area that accept bitcoin and show them you buying something with bitcoin.
look on the bitcoin jobs listings to see any available jobs where people are paid in bitcoin. that way you can cover all the bases of rebuttles that bitcoin is not as useful as fiat.

if your friends are investors.. then do the comparison to gold speech, with all the benefits of bitcoin (deflation, limited supply, cost of production rising(mining)) to point out the huge rise potential.

[Denker]

So I introduced the topic of Bitcoin last night with some colleagues I was having dinner with. I don't usually do this, it's hard to gauge what people's reaction will be.

Of the 5 people I was talking to:

• 1 person new of it although he had a lot of facts wrong
• 3 people listened, and
• 1 person asked skeptical questions and then concluded "I think I'll stick with my fiat"

Only 1 of 5 with immediate rejection of the idea is a pretty good result from my very scientific poll!

The guy who was skeptical asked "what gives it value?" To which I just replied supply and demand. I didn't want to get into some debate about what gives fiat currency value (although maybe he should be educated on how money is created from nothing in fiat systems).

Can each of you do us all a favor? This weekend, talk to at least 1 person about bitcoin. See if they're aware of it, accepting of the idea, or even using it.

If we all talk about it it will slowly become less foreign. We'll educate people. We'll help push adoption!

I've done this several times.Often the people listen and seem to be interested to know more about it in details and where is the difference to the actual monetary system which I explain to them as easy as possible.
The result at the end, even after several talks and discussions is that maybe 1 out of 10 decided to buy bitcoin and to use it in stores I showed them.I'm more just showing the people today how bitcoin works.With experience comes excitement.Still hard work to get more guys into the boat, especially after the last days when price drops again that hard.

[Lauda]

Yeah, agreed. It just made it clear that he didn't have much thought or understanding of what makes any of our money valuable. Last night wasn't the time to debate or educate him (and risk making him feel bad for not knowing) but next time I'll have a good quick answer.

Obviously he doesn't know why the banks are rich and controlling everything while the average person works hard in order to just survive. Try teaching him about the 'magic making machine' or tell him to watch the
'Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It' movie in order to understand how the current money is based on nothing. They're creating more and more whenever they want to. If either one of those two happens, tell us what he thinks now.

[USB-S]

Can each of you do us all a favor? This weekend, talk to at least 1 person about bitcoin. See if they're aware of it, accepting of the idea, or even using it.

This weekend I'm going to try to introduce bitcoin to 3 of my friends.
What do you guys think, should I just lay the facts on the floor until they accept the fact, that bitcoin is far more superior, than any other means of exchange. What should I do if they are too ignorant and would just speak rubbish?

tell us a bit about your friends.. that way you can point out aspects of bitcoin that will 'it home' with them.

eg.. there is no point telling them that bitcoin is better then western union. if your 3 friends will and have never used or needed western union..

also do you have enough bitcoin your willing to spend on the meal..? look for places in your area that accept bitcoin and show them you buying something with bitcoin.
look on the bitcoin jobs listings to see any available jobs where people are paid in bitcoin. that way you can cover all the bases of rebuttles that bitcoin is not as useful as fiat.

if your friends are investors.. then do the comparison to gold speech, with all the benefits of bitcoin (deflation, limited supply, cost of production rising(mining)) to point out the huge rise potential.

Thanks for the tips, I'll try to cover as much as I can. My goal would be for them to see bitcoin as I see it. But I'll accept if at least one of them goes home and does some research on this topic. Most of the people are quite ignorant and their answer to me would be "why would I change my paradigms if there is no need for me to do so" or "I'll hop on board when others do".

But I managed to sell bitcoin to a bank salesman trying to sell me retirement bonds. The same bank also hosts a altcoin called cuber, that means the salesman was aware of cryptos, but wasn't aware of what bitcoin could be if it went viral. I explaned to him the basics of bitcoin, also some promises about the economy when bitcoin succeeds(I used US gov as example, when the dollar was backed by gold).

Later when I went home I tough that I managed to sell bitcoins to a salesman trying to sell me shit, how hard can it be. But then again his product was full shit and mine. Well Bitcoin kindof sells itself

[LiteCoinGuy]

So I introduced the topic of Bitcoin last night with some colleagues I was having dinner with. I don't usually do this, it's hard to gauge what people's reaction will be.

Of the 5 people I was talking to:

• 1 person new of it although he had a lot of facts wrong
• 3 people listened, and
• 1 person asked skeptical questions and then concluded "I think I'll stick with my fiat"

Only 1 of 5 with immediate rejection of the idea is a pretty good result from my very scientific poll!

The guy who was skeptical asked "what gives it value?" To which I just replied supply and demand. I didn't want to get into some debate about what gives fiat currency value (although maybe he should be educated on how money is created from nothing in fiat systems).

Can each of you do us all a favor? This weekend, talk to at least 1 person about bitcoin. See if they're aware of it, accepting of the idea, or even using it.

If we all talk about it it will slowly become less foreign. We'll educate people. We'll help push adoption!

i talked to one woman yesterday but she never heard of if. she was open to the concept and had no negative notion of it.

[NorrisK]

I try to talk to people about bitcoin on a weekly basis actually already. But I will initiate the conversation with some of my friends I'm meeting with.

Good idea, this will spread the word much fast if we get a lot of people on board!

[gogxmagog]

Btc is only worth discussing with people who have at least a little understanding, otherwise it's just Greek to them and you bore them/ wear them out. I've dropped the notion on people, informed them of what btc is, but unless they are receptive you risk confusing even alienating them. Finance and economics are not child's play not simple concepts. If you don't know 100% what you speak of you can do more damage than good.

That said, I drop my subtle hints, let them know what's up, and sooner or later they are coming to me with inquiries. Seems I'm the only guy they know who knows anything.

I don't want to evangelize and thump bibles but I can help you if you want.