Bill Gates: "Bitcoin is a techno tour de force."

[w00t]

For those not familiar with the term



tour de force
[toor duh fawrs, -fohrs; French toor duh fawrs] Show IPA
noun, plural tours de force [toorz duh fawrs, -fohrs; French toor duh fawrs] Show IPA .
1. an exceptional achievement by an artist, author, or the like, that is unlikely to be equaled by that person or anyone else; stroke of genius: Herman Melville's Moby Dick was a tour de force.
2. a particularly adroit maneuver or technique in handling a difficult situation: The way the president got his bill through the Senate was a tour de force.
3. a feat requiring unusual strength, skill, or ingenuity.


That's a pretty bold statement from Bill F'ing Gates

Thanks I appreciate it as I'm a non-native speaker and was unable to find some quick definition.

Btw. it's great news!

[1715525137]

1715525137

[molecular]

I thought Gates came off as quite complimentary with that little statement.  Pretty cool.

Edit:  Shit!  For some reason I thought this thread was only in "Economics" and not the spec forum.  I'm outta here.

we need you, come back!

[fitty]

Interesting quote,"I think Bitcoin is Rat Poison".

I agree. The banks are the Rats.

The full quote is even funnier. Gotta love when people admit they have no clue but still go on to share their opinion.

Interviewer: Do you understand what they're trying to do with it?

Charlie Munger: No.

Interviewer: What do you think of it?

Charlie Munger: I think it's rat poison.

[impulse]

Interesting quote,"I think Bitcoin is Rat Poison".

I agree. The banks are the Rats.

The full quote is even funnier. Gotta love when people admit they have no clue but still go on to share their opinion.

Interviewer: Do you understand what they're trying to do with it?

Charlie Munger: No.

Interviewer: What do you think of it?

Charlie Munger: I think it's rat poison.

Yeah, that was pretty great. Munger can only offer dismissive insults because he is obviously incapable of understanding Bitcoin and thus developing an informed opposition. This question clearly struck a nerve with him, probably because something in his lizard brain detects a threat but his inability to understand the issue is frustrating him. I think that his reaction betrays underlying fears that his understanding of the world and his legacy are in jeopardy. Gates on the other hand understands technology and is not threatened by it, his legacy is well established, he is both a hero and a villain but he has definitely helped to shape the future.

[Adrian-x]

Interesting quote,"I think Bitcoin is Rat Poison".

Charlie Munger, from Berkshire Hathaway, strikes me as sharp in the interview, ( I wish I could see the whole thing) I tend to agree with everything he says. Given the speed at which he answers he has obviously given Bitcoin some thought.

Someone in his position, overseeing an empire of companies and investments has to look after them, so his response is appropriate. Given my understanding of the Austrian business cycle theory it seems obvious that the economic growth we have to date is a result of managing an economy through Monetarism and perverted Kenyan ideals.  

So naturally Bitcoin is "poison" to the companies whose growth and viability depend on Monetarist policies and the resulting liquidity made possible through the banks.
Warren Buffet's response "Put him down as undecided." Is huge, implying they haven't finished exploring the ramifications.

And Charlie Munger, admitting he doesn't understand it fully has in my opinion, the perfect amount of scepticism when he replies "No, but I regard it as deeply flaky."

All things said, I would like Charlie Munger's opinion on money and the effect of having a Monetarist system that is not controlled from the top down, (and more robust then the gold standard) than his opinion on the in's and out's of the Bitcoin protocol.

[RationalSpeculator]

Interesting quote,"I think Bitcoin is Rat Poison".

I agree. The banks are the Rats.

The full quote is even funnier. Gotta love when people admit they have no clue but still go on to share their opinion.

Interviewer: Do you understand what they're trying to do with it?

Charlie Munger: No.

Interviewer: What do you think of it?

Charlie Munger: I think it's rat poison.

Yeah, that was pretty great. Munger can only offer dismissive insults because he is obviously incapable of understanding Bitcoin and thus developing an informed opposition. This question clearly struck a nerve with him, probably because something in his lizard brain detects a threat but his inability to understand the issue is frustrating him. I think that his reaction betrays underlying fears that his understanding of the world and his legacy are in jeopardy. Gates on the other hand understands technology and is not threatened by it, his legacy is well established, he is both a hero and a villain but he has definitely helped to shape the future.

+1

[Crypt_Current]

I thought Gates came off as quite complimentary with that little statement.  Pretty cool.

Edit:  Shit!  For some reason I thought this thread was only in "Economics" and not the spec forum.  I'm outta here.

lulz @ running of the bears

[notme]

Interesting quote,"I think Bitcoin is Rat Poison".

Charlie Munger, from Berkshire Hathaway, strikes me as sharp in the interview, ( I wish I could see the whole thing) I tend to agree with everything he says. Given the speed at which he answers he has obviously given Bitcoin some thought.

Someone in his position, overseeing an empire of companies and investments has to look after them, so his response is appropriate. Given my understanding of the Austrian business cycle theory it seems obvious that the economic growth we have to date is a result of managing an economy through Monetarism and perverted Kenyan ideals. 

So naturally Bitcoin is "poison" to the companies whose growth and viability depend on Monetarist policies and the resulting liquidity made possible through the banks.
Warren Buffet's response "Put him down as undecided." Is huge, implying they haven't finished exploring the ramifications.

And Charlie Munger, admitting he doesn't understand it fully has in my opinion, the perfect amount of scepticism when he replies "No, but I regard it as deeply flaky."

All things said, I would like Charlie Munger's opinion on money and the effect of having a monastery system that is not controlled from the top down, (and more robust then the gold standard) than his opinion on the ins and outs of the Bitcoin protocol.

Monasteries work best when not controlled from the top down.  Unless you count God as the top.  Then top-down control is pretty unavoidable.

[old_engineer]

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” (Gandhi)

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you.  Then it turns out they can keep cycling through these three activities, without you ever winning.” (not Gandhi)

[hyphymikey]

Bill Gates will convert 50% of his wealth into bitcoins soon. What price should we expect?

If he bought every bitcoin, along with Satoshi coming back and putting his coins up for sell, we could expect 2800 a coin at least. That rpietila guy says 1 million are spec coins, in that case 33,000 USD each.  BRING IT BILL, BRING IT!  Although if he had all the coins they wouldn't matter much, unless you are a miner 

[sgbett]

I thought Gates came off as quite complimentary with that little statement.  Pretty cool.

Edit:  Shit!  For some reason I thought this thread was only in "Economics" and not the spec forum.  I'm outta here.

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

[Le Happy Merchant]

I thought Gates came off as quite complimentary with that little statement.  Pretty cool.

Edit:  Shit!  For some reason I thought this thread was only in "Economics" and not the spec forum.  I'm outta here.

Come back! We need you!

[ChanceCoats123]

Watch out for the next Windows update it might contain a miner trojan 

At least then they would have an excuse for computers on Windows running slow...

ZINGGG!

[xavier]

Warren Buffet's response "Put him down as undecided." Is huge, implying they haven't finished exploring the ramifications.

HOW? He is joking, it doesn't imply this at all

They *are* both limited in their views by their positions, agree. But i think they are being honest

Let's be honest now amongst ourselves

It IS highly risky, and in a normal world it WOULD be illegalized pretty quickly and die out. In a normal world these guys are right: rat poison.

But, this is not a normal world we are living in. We are living in a world that's in some serious s*** . For example , read Bill Gross's last 2 reports (twitter: PIMCO). To say that we could be due another financial catastrophe in the medium term future is not controversial. I think most investors expect that at least when the fed raises rates, there is going to be a huge financial disaster (but that could be a long time away). If they carry on printing money , perhaps there will be more trouble before then. The question is not, will there be a financial collapse, it's when will it happen. Nobody knows: this is not a normal economic situation; it is unprecedented. It could continue like this for a decade or more, or the shit could hit the fan tomorrow. IMO, the key to the bitcoin investment story is context, something which is not mentioned in this interview.

Lets not also forget, the likes of Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates - they have built their fortunes in 'normal economies' ; they are not accustomed to the current economic situation.

[wamatt]

Thanks for posting. All super smart guys.

I find it encouraging that they don't seem to agree on bitcoin.

[sunnankar]

The question is not, will there be a financial collapse, it's when will it happen. Nobody knows: this is not a normal economic situation; it is unprecedented. It could continue like this for a decade or more, or the shit could hit the fan tomorrow. IMO, the key to the bitcoin investment story is context, something which is not mentioned in this interview.

This is a very important observation. During times like these there are two choices offered: repression or regeneration.

When the Continental collapsed there was the American Revolution and regeneration with gold and silver only as legal tender.

On the other side of the Atlantic, John Law got gold and silver outlawed as mediums of exchange punishable by death; repression. The natural backlash was the Reign of Terror with the guillotining of tens of thousands of French aristocracy.

During the 1920's in Germany the Mark collapsed in hyperinflation which set the stage for supreme repression with Hitler.

But in 1694 Isaac Newton was Master of the Mint and invented the gold standard; regeneration.

History is being played out and it seems that the US, China, Bafin and most other regulators are choosing the path of regeneration instead of repression (only the Canadians it seems). It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[RationalSpeculator]

The question is not, will there be a financial collapse, it's when will it happen. Nobody knows: this is not a normal economic situation; it is unprecedented. It could continue like this for a decade or more, or the shit could hit the fan tomorrow. IMO, the key to the bitcoin investment story is context, something which is not mentioned in this interview.

This is a very important observation. During times like these there are two choices offered: repression or regeneration.

When the Continental collapsed there was the American Revolution and regeneration with gold and silver only as legal tender.

On the other side of the Atlantic, John Law got gold and silver outlawed as mediums of exchange punishable by death; repression. The natural backlash was the Reign of Terror with the guillotining of tens of thousands of French aristocracy.

During the 1920's in Germany the Mark collapsed in hyperinflation which set the stage for supreme repression with Hitler.

But in 1694 Isaac Newton was Master of the Mint and invented the gold standard; regeneration.

History is being played out and it seems that the US, China, Bafin and most other regulators are choosing the path of regeneration instead of repression (only the Canadians it seems). It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Wauw, what a post, you know your stuff, thumbs up!

[molecular]

The question is not, will there be a financial collapse, it's when will it happen. Nobody knows: this is not a normal economic situation; it is unprecedented. It could continue like this for a decade or more, or the shit could hit the fan tomorrow. IMO, the key to the bitcoin investment story is context, something which is not mentioned in this interview.

This is a very important observation. During times like these there are two choices offered: repression or regeneration.

When the Continental collapsed there was the American Revolution and regeneration with gold and silver only as legal tender.

On the other side of the Atlantic, John Law got gold and silver outlawed as mediums of exchange punishable by death; repression. The natural backlash was the Reign of Terror with the guillotining of tens of thousands of French aristocracy.

During the 1920's in Germany the Mark collapsed in hyperinflation which set the stage for supreme repression with Hitler.

But in 1694 Isaac Newton was Master of the Mint and invented the gold standard; regeneration.

History is being played out and it seems that the US, China, Bafin and most other regulators are choosing the path of regeneration instead of repression (only the Canadians it seems). It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

awesome post about context of bitcoin. Can you elaborate a bit on why you think the bolded part is true? What are these indications? And what's up with Canada?

[counter]

http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/2359385547001/

Does Bill Gates owns some bitcoins?  

Could someone please transcribe the whole discussion about Bitcoin? I'm not native and could only understand 70% of it

Host: We need to talk about Bitcoin in a minute, I can't wait to hear what Charlie Munger has to say about this.

Warren Buffet: Neither can I.

Host: Let's bring in Charlie Munger the vice chair of Berkshire Hathaway. Bill's gonna mover over so you can come sit in.  Good morning Charlie.

Charlie Munger: Good morning.

Host: I just had to get your thought on Bitcoin, this digital currency that's out there.  That people say"oh it might be the next big thing".  What do you think?

Charlie Munger: I think it's rat poison.

Warren Buffet: Put him down as undecided.

Host: Do you understand what their trying to do with it?

Charlie Munger: No, but i regard it as deeply flaky.

Host: Deeply flaky ok. Bill what do you think?

Bill Gates: Ah I think it's a technical "tour de force".  But that's an area where governments are going to maintain a dominant role.

Host: Mmhmm, Warren?

Warren Buffet:I think either charlie or bill is right.

Host: Either on of those guys.

Then they go on to talk about corporate tax rates and other issues like the federal reserve etc.  

[Zaih]

Munger has ALWAYS annoyed me. Ffs