137 sats \ 6 replies \ @k00b 22 May \ on: Bitcoin is a system of distrust - Yuval Noah Harari bitcoin
Seems to be a follow up to the interview we discussed here.
Oooof. He must not have read Broken Money. Or really any book about money for that matter. Money is how we solve transacting with someone whom we don't trust with whom we don't have a coincidence of wants. People aren't, by default, trustworthy, and money allowed us to do business with people we don't trust. Money is built for distrust. Bitcoin is just a better form of it.
I do think there's a point to be made about better money causing trust to be in less demand. That would be an awesome point for someone like him to make, but instead he says whatever he's trying to say here, which sounds an awful lot like Terrance Howard explaining math/physics/chemistry.
It is interesting to listen to these comments and then listen to WBD Podcast Junseth interview where he plays recording with a scammer. Here's the question I would ask Yuval. OK, what do we do then? Should we just keep getting scammed forever? Are we supposed to believe and trust people that keep scamming us? Are we supposed to vote harder? What is his answer?
If I didn't know any better I would just think this dude is naive.
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I haven't listened / read his actual comments in their full context, but I wonder how much of this interpretation is in good faith. If the real thing he wants to say is: trust in people and institutions is vitally important for human flourishing, and it would be sad to write it off then I agree 100%. There is no technological solution that obivates the need for trust and the fruits of it, and any world in which people don't find ways to scaffold trust in each other at scale will be a hellscape.
I view btc as in service of that effort. The quoted excerpt seems to indicate that he does not, so that would be a point of departure. But hard to say without investing more time.
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Yeah, that's a good point. There are many like him. It is interesting how few non-bitcoiner influencers have a huge mental block about bitcoin. How few of them understand it. I really look for smart people that have good arguments against bitcoin. Almost all are just arrogant and ignorant. It has shown me that arrogance is the biggest threat to people once they achieve notoriety. It has deepened my focus on not being arrogant myself. I think bitcoiners need to guard against this on a daily basis. It is an increasing vulnerability as NGU. "Stay humble"
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Yeah, that's what I think.
Kinda surprising how much ignorance there is about money.
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