Gold collapsing. Bitcoin UP.

[ErisDiscordia]

great post

Great post cypherdoc!

Bitcoin is an extremely complex phenomenon. Expecting everybody to understand both its technical workings and its social ramifications would be very optimistic.

The importance of speculators as well as "hoarders" (or savers, as I like to call them) for Bitcoin seems to escape lots of people on this forum even to this day.

Trying to invoke critical thinking in people is a noble goal and I salute you for pursuing it! I enjoy this thread.

[cypherdoc]

great post

Great post cypherdoc!

Bitcoin is an extremely complex phenomenon. Expecting everybody to understand both its technical workings and its social ramifications would be very optimistic.

The importance of speculators as well as "hoarders" (or savers, as I like to call them) for Bitcoin seems to escape lots of people on this forum even to this day.

Trying to invoke critical thinking in people is a noble goal and I salute you for pursuing it! I enjoy this thread.

oh gaud.  hoarding.  that's another one of the major criticisms i heard all day everyday back in 2011.

they failed to understand that hoarding is just another form of saving.  and since when is saving supposed to be bad, unless you're Ben Berspankme?

the arguments against hoarding at the time went like this.  "unless Bitcoiners spend their money, there is no way the merchant economy can get off the ground".  this is so wrong on so many levels.  sometimes ppl just need to save money for rainier days.  it depends on their age in life.  savings can be used to lend to promising Bitcoin projects.  it also creates scarcity during this inflationary phase of reward issuance which helps support the price. point being, there will always be hoarders.  AND, there will always be spenders.  so my argument was just "STFU about hoarders. please".

the other argument they made about volatility was that it prevented merchants from running a stable business.  while this could be true for those Bitcoin businesses running on a shoestring or who were susceptible to price swings, it is NOT true for a well run, well capitalized, forward thinking business that seeks to accumulate BTC leveraging future prospects.  what an opportunity to do so back in 2011!  idiots were dumping BTC to buy whatever they could due to fear that their BTC would go to zero.  i always think back to Meze Grill who shut their doors back in 2011.  what a huge mistake that was.

[iCEBREAKER]

The BIT is kicking ass, and bringing in millions each week:

Net assets under management already reached $21.8 million, which I guess means how much dollars they have taken in(?).

I see BIT is modeled after GLD.

This sets up the Final Battle of Paper Bitcoins vs Real Bitcoins.

Like silver, gold lost its battle against paper due to the intentional opacity of actual vs claimed holdings (which take advantage of natural sources of friction and information scarcity).

Bitcoin is Gold 2.0 in the sense that it is radically transparent and perceptions of supply cannot be (effectively) manipulated with fractional reserve management of unallocated accounts and naked shorting.

/stuff Peter Schiff needs to understand (after he learns why public/private key encryption can be trusted)

[thezerg]

Many people whine when the cards don't go their way and engineers are absolutely a huge pack of whiners!  And finger pointers, esp. when their "baby" is being hurt!  This is the human condition.  

Yet many engineers who have spent time in startups have a great appreciation of the role of capital.  Others maybe not so much.  At the same time I think you're saying that a lot of engineers would have no idea how to get Bitcoin from $1 to $400.  To simplify, they'd just figure adoption would occur because everybody would read Satoshi's white paper.  "Nerds have no idea how to apply what they hath created"  does not quite have the same panache... but is more what you are saying I think.

I think around 2011 you were a lone financier in a pack of engineers and so you've got some serious battle scars.

WRT updates... its always the engineer who does the work!  And the manager who wants the goddamn waste of time daily meetings!  (Yes my team is going through release crunch right now)...    Just kidding in fact it may be terrible but 100x vs 105x is a whole lot in dollar terms but just another increment when posted.  Can you imagine a 5x increase in Jun 2012!!!  I should make you a google docs spreadsheet...  I try to do updates either at significant ATH or when I see the thread start to roll off the bottom of the first page...

[rpietila]

many engineers - - 'd just figure adoption would occur because everybody would read Satoshi's white paper.

I read the paper about a week ago. LOL. Especially as I studied engineering And still no bitcoin software...

[rocks]

I've long held the opinion that the most important thing about todays system of schooling is not the content of the curriculum, but the structure of the whole activity in schools. Sort of like Marshall McLuhans "the Media is the Message" - it doesn't matter what is ON TV, what matters is that TV, as a medium influences thought and action in a certain way, regardless of what content is shown.

So what do our schools teach us? The first thing they teach you is that you are not the sovereign master of your time. They teach you that all your life, there will be predetermined periods of time, during which you have to be at a certain location, doing specific things. After that you will generously get some "free time".

Next thing you learn is that there is exactly one correct answer for everything and don't bother trying to come up with it yourself, we already have, so just memorize it.

And do NOT question authority. Mistakes are wrong, be afraid of mistakes, you will be punished for them.

All in all these places stifle creative thinking and personal development, reinforce conformity and submissiveness to authority. In other words they achieve their goal splendidly. What goal? George Carlin pointed it out years ago: the point of schools is to create obedient workers. Just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork and just dumb enough to passively accept all the rigged bullshit of this system.

Well put!

IMHO the issue with the current system is across the board our "thought leaders" (i.e. those in positions to advise and create/influence policy) are universally those who bought into the conformity of thinking you described so well. Just look at the path one HAS to go through to become a FED chairman. It requires going to a top economics program, accepting the concensus line of thinking as fact, and becoming highly regarded in that field by publishing papers that most other experts agree with.

By definition, those who go outside the norm are not seen positively and do not advance in the field. Engineering/science fields are at least grounded in a physcial world, it is possible to later prove who is right, but economics & public policy have no such feedback mechanism and as a result can go down false paths for generations. Worse is these fields are coruptable due to their proximity to money/power politics.

[wachtwoord]

many engineers - - 'd just figure adoption would occur because everybody would read Satoshi's white paper.

I read the paper about a week ago. LOL. Especially as I studied engineering And still no bitcoin software...

Want to pay me 1% a year to put and keep your coins in cold storage?

[wren]

...we know what we don't know...

really.

[Morbid]

the arguments against hoarding at the time went like this.  "unless Bitcoiners spend their money, there is no way the merchant economy can get off the ground".  this is so wrong on so many levels.  sometimes ppl just need to save money for rainier days.  it depends on their age in life.  savings can be used to lend to promising Bitcoin projects.  it also creates scarcity during this inflationary phase of reward issuance which helps support the price. point being, there will always be hoarders.  AND, there will always be spenders.  so my argument was just "STFU about hoarders. please".

i totally agree! i believe that running bitcoin business is unwise at times like these. they can run for the sake of bringing legitimacy only and not for profit - and why would they as they profit everyday by just holding coins they have. we need to wait for volatility to be less aggressive and then you'll see them sprouting out like mushrooms after rainy season.

[Morbid]

Well put!

IMHO the issue with the current system is across the board our "thought leaders" (i.e. those in positions to advise and create/influence policy) are universally those who bought into the conformity thinking you described so well. Just look at path one HAS to go through to become a FED chairman. It requires going to a top economics program, accepting the concensus line of thinking as fact, and becoming highly regarded in that field by publishing papers that most other experts agree with.

By definition, those who go outside the norm are not seen positively and do not advance in the field. Engineering/science fields are at least grounded in a physcial world, it is possible to later prove who is right, but economics & public policy have no such feedback mechanism and as a result can go down false paths for generations. Worse is these fields are coruptable due to their proximity to money/power politics.

poor Ben Bearhonkme. he must be thinking that he did nothing wong in his life! he went to school, got good drades, his parents told him to stay away from drugs so he never touched them, got a nice job, did it very nicely and always followed exact orders from the top. he recommended himself as extremely reliable person and got the top job in the field. he must be clueless as to where he went wrong in his life. - as you can see these sort of people are unable to think for themselves and only follow orders whether its from his parents, teachers or bosses. i bet there is a bunch of old boys above him getting stoned weekly and thinking what other humiliating thing they can make Ben say for everyone to hate him and him only!

[cypherdoc]

Well put!

IMHO the issue with the current system is across the board our "thought leaders" (i.e. those in positions to advise and create/influence policy) are universally those who bought into the conformity thinking you described so well. Just look at path one HAS to go through to become a FED chairman. It requires going to a top economics program, accepting the concensus line of thinking as fact, and becoming highly regarded in that field by publishing papers that most other experts agree with.

By definition, those who go outside the norm are not seen positively and do not advance in the field. Engineering/science fields are at least grounded in a physcial world, it is possible to later prove who is right, but economics & public policy have no such feedback mechanism and as a result can go down false paths for generations. Worse is these fields are coruptable due to their proximity to money/power politics.

poor Ben Bearhonkme. he must be thinking that he did nothing wong in his life! he went to school, got good drades, his parents told him to stay away from drugs so he never touched them, got a nice job, did it very nicely and always followed exact orders from the top. he recommended himself as extremely reliable person and got the top job in the field. he must be clueless as to where he went wrong in his life. - as you can see these sort of people are unable to think for themselves and only follow orders whether its from his parents, teachers or bosses. i bet there is a bunch of old boys above him getting stoned weekly and thinking what other humiliating thing they can make Ben say for everyone to hate him and him only!

The Fed Chairmanship represents the ultimate in centralization. 

why else create a Fed and stick one whipping boy into that position?  manipulate him to the max.  profit.

[iCEBREAKER]

The Fed Chairmanship BIS represents the ultimate in centralization.

Fixed. 

Our Fed is merely the largest tentacle on an international octopus.

[User705]

The BIT is kicking ass, and bringing in millions each week:

Net assets under management already reached $21.8 million, which I guess means how much dollars they have taken in(?).

I see BIT is modeled after GLD.

This sets up the Final Battle of Paper Bitcoins vs Real Bitcoins.

Like silver, gold lost its battle against paper due to the intentional opacity of actual vs claimed holdings (which take advantage of natural sources of friction and information scarcity).

Bitcoin is Gold 2.0 in the sense that it is radically transparent and perceptions of supply cannot be (effectively) manipulated with fractional reserve management of unallocated accounts and naked shorting.

/stuff Peter Schiff needs to understand (after he learns why public/private key encryption can be trusted)

And yet BIT has not identified the coins that back it.  How different is it from the current PM market.

[vokain]

I have a feeling we still have a big fight ahead of us. Good thing we're getting more help day by day

[Wekkel]

The fun outlook: markets crashed months after replacement of the last FED chairmen. Yellen could be up for a surprise (and she sure isn't seeing any bubbles while stocks are exploding on enormous FED $$ pumping)...

I imagine what Bitcoin will do when the large markets plummet again.

[Adrian-x]

And yet BIT has not identified the coins that back it.  How different is it from the current PM market.

Oh! this takes my breath away.

[Adrian-x]

The fun outlook: markets crashed months after replacement of the last FED chairmen. Yellen could be up for a surprise (and she sure isn't seeing any bubbles while stocks are exploding on enormous FED $$ pumping)...

I imagine what Bitcoin will do when the large markets plummet again.

I can only hope there is a Bitcoin ETF on the NASDAQ before it happens. (with actual Bitcoin's backing it, with a verified signed message.)

[miscreanity]

It will be very interesting if Bitcoin and gold ETFs with no asset backing eventually blow up around the same time...

[oakpacific]

http://www.ecns.cn/cns-wire/2013/11-15/88703.shtml

Are Chinese damas giving up PM for Bitcoins? I am not sure how to make of it.

On another note, I would really like to see the U.S trying to greenlist them, dama doesn't give a damn!

Given the infamy of Japanese Ms. Watanabe's, it seems no surprise as to the rise of Chinese Dama's.

That's the good thing about having a senior around, I haven't realized that historical perspective.

[vokain]

I've long held the opinion that the most important thing about todays system of schooling is not the content of the curriculum, but the structure of the whole activity in schools. Sort of like Marshall McLuhans "the Media is the Message" - it doesn't matter what is ON TV, what matters is that TV, as a medium influences thought and action in a certain way, regardless of what content is shown.

So what do our schools teach us? The first thing they teach you is that you are not the sovereign master of your time. They teach you that all your life, there will be predetermined periods of time, during which you have to be at a certain location, doing specific things. After that you will generously get some "free time".

Next thing you learn is that there is exactly one correct answer for everything and don't bother trying to come up with it yourself, we already have, so just memorize it.

And do NOT question authority. Mistakes are wrong, be afraid of mistakes, you will be punished for them.

All in all these places stifle creative thinking and personal development, reinforce conformity and submissiveness to authority. In other words they achieve their goal splendidly. What goal? George Carlin pointed it out years ago: the point of schools is to create obedient workers. Just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork and just dumb enough to passively accept all the rigged bullshit of this system.

Well put!

IMHO the issue with the current system is across the board our "thought leaders" (i.e. those in positions to advise and create/influence policy) are universally those who bought into the conformity of thinking you described so well. Just look at the path one HAS to go through to become a FED chairman. It requires going to a top economics program, accepting the concensus line of thinking as fact, and becoming highly regarded in that field by publishing papers that most other experts agree with.

By definition, those who go outside the norm are not seen positively and do not advance in the field. Engineering/science fields are at least grounded in a physcial world, it is possible to later prove who is right, but economics & public policy have no such feedback mechanism and as a result can go down false paths for generations. Worse is these fields are coruptable due to their proximity to money/power politics.

Look at the shit I just got in the mail:
http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/8357/j3ic.jpg

And it was probably written by freshly graduated students.