343 sats \ 12 replies \ @Undisciplined 21 Sep 2023 \ on: What is the issue with Michael Saylor's Bitcoin is "Digital Energy" Idea bitcoin
As a pedantic person with training in physics, my main problem with it is just that it's literally false.
As an economist, I don't feel like it's the best way to describe what money is, but I get why it helps some people start thinking about money.
The shortest statement of the problem is this: energy is strictly conserved, which is in stark contrast to the win-win nature of economic transactions.
Another way to think about this could be, he's not talking to you. He's communicating to the mass audience. Well, not mass audience but business audience.
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Bitcoin is a giant hand. It's purpose is to smack you across the face for your stupidity and intransigence in the face of answers to your question. You are part of the problem of fiat and that is why bitcoin is literally a giant hand designed to smack YOU IN PARTICULAR across the face for this foolishness.
-me, as Saylor, with you as my demographic
"Bitcoin is a platypus" - American Hodl
Stop your desperation for LIES to bring NGU at any cost. Desperation is never a good look.
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He might not be talking to me, but you were (whether or not you wanted to). ;)
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Sorry, I didn't mean that as a slight. It sounds like it though. Appreciate your response. I asked for it :)
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Don't worry, I didn't actually take it as a slight.
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Thank you for your explanation. It sounds like the issue could be resolved by him saying "it is like" or "if you could". I feel you though. If I had your training I could see myself getting hung up on this. I do in MANY other areas.
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I've never had an issue with it being used as an analogy to get people thinking about money in a more useful way.
However, the implication that transactions just involve swapping things of equal value (conserving energy) is an enormous step backwards in economic thought and misses the beautiful way markets generate prosperity.
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I'm not familiar with the conserving energy idea? Do you mean the idea of a battery? The idea of a store of value? Maybe I haven't heard Saylor say this or it just went through me.
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I don't know how explicitly he has stated the conservation of value idea, but it has been a clear implication of his metaphor in the instances where I've heard him talk about this.
Conservation of energy is the central concept of physics. In every interaction, total energy before equals total energy after.
By contrast, the central insight of economics is that in every voluntary interaction, total value before is less than total value after.
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Hold up...
central insight of economics is that in every voluntary interaction, total value before is less than total value after.
Is this always true? I doubt it. People make mistakes. Value is lost at times. On the whole we see free markets increase the size of the pie. Its not zero sum. I'd love to hear Saylor asked questions like this.
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You're exactly right about that correction. I was speaking a bit too loosely. What we actually say is that value after is expected to be greater than value before, otherwise the parties involved wouldn't agree to the transaction. People can, of course, misjudge these things and end up regretting a decision.
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Ah! I see what you are saying.
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