Trying To Get A Friend Interested In SN \ stacker news ~meta

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1072 sats \ 51 comments \ @siggy47 1 Dec meta

Like most retired guys I have a group of friends that I will fairly regularly meet up with for lunch, dinner, or a few drinks. Last night was one such occasion. We went to dinner and a concert, and we had to settle up what we owed each other. Two years ago I started trying to pay my share to this guy in bitcoin. He thought I was nuts and declined. It's not like we don't talk about bitcoin. He knows my interest, and he even likes hearing about Stacker News, which I talk to him about pretty regularly. He's a sports gambler, so I'm always trying to use @grayruby's territory as an incentive.

He laughs and says he has no interest in money. That's certainly not really the case. He talks about money a lot. It is true that he has no interest in investing in conventional fiat markets either. It seems like he only wants to bet on sports.

Once again I offered to pay my share last night to him in bitcoin, and he refused. It's odd, because he obviously likes to talk about it. He finds it amusing in an odd way.

As a last resort, I used the old NGU on him, calculating his return on investment if he would have taken me up on my offer to pay him with bitcoin how he would have more than tripled his money. Nothing. Not even fiat FOMO moves this guy.

It's a strange situation.

Edit: I should have added that next week is his 70th birthday. Maybe that matters?

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43 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei 2 Dec

I think that as we get older, some of us become set in our ways. Accepting your Bitcoin would mean that he had to figure out an entirely new way of using money. Maybe he has a big ego and doesn’t want to feel lesser by learning the ropes. Maybe he’s contented with where he is and has little interest in acquiring more. God knows.

Maybe you can show him our responses and see how he reacts. Sometimes we need a nudge from the back from complete strangers - entirely new stimulus jolts our senses

43 sats \ 0 replies \ @Msd0457890 1 Dec

I have always thought that it is not impossible to become interested in Bitcoin and begin our path in it regardless of our age, perhaps teaching your friend is not an easy task but do not give up it is not impossible perhaps Bitcoin will make him live a little better old age than the Fiat system will allow, which we know is a total fallacy.

43 sats \ 0 replies \ @BitcoinAbhi 1 Dec

Please focus it only on young people. the conversion rate will be higher

43 sats \ 4 replies \ @bief57 1 Dec

70 years old, my grandmother's age, I don't see my grandmother listening to me talk about bitcoin, she would surely look at me and think "my granddaughter is crazy". How do you deconstruct an older person's beliefs?

20 sats \ 3 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

I'm pretty old too. Everyone is different. I honestly think it's about a person's tolerance for boredom. People my age seem more content with existence than me. I quickly start to lose my mind if I'm not learning something new.

43 sats \ 0 replies \ @bief57 1 Dec

I agree with you, every person is different. When you were describing your friend, I immediately thought of my grandmother because she likes to listen but is pigeonholed into what she already knows. Although I must give her credit for daring to have a cell phone and learn how to use it, after her children repeatedly insisted that she had to dare to learn. She did it.

54 sats \ 1 reply \ @Coinsreporter 1 Dec

Please don't say you're old. None can say you're old just by talking to you. Age is nothing but a number.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @bief57 1 Dec

I read Siggy and imagine someone 30 years old, maybe that's the age of her spirit

43 sats \ 1 reply \ @flat24 1 Dec

A rather difficult question to resolve, I think that it was difficult for me to understand Bitcoin, since I am a much younger person and sometimes I have money problems to pay my bills and I did not understand why everything was becoming more expensive. I suppose that for someone much older, and especially that age of 70 years, it is quite, quite difficult to shape a new model of thinking, and if we add to this that possibly it is not a person with money problems or caresses for their month to month, it is even more complicated to try to reach it.

And I would like to add this conclusion of my own based on people close to me.

If you are a gambler, it is even more difficult! Gamblers do not have much long-term vision, nor are they motivated by projects that take time, gamblers love the adrenaline of the short term, the injection of instant excitement!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

Very good points all around! He still buys the argument that everything costs more because evil big corporations are price gouging. His bettor mentality is exactly as you describe.

43 sats \ 1 reply \ @TNStacker 1 Dec freebie

At 70, the average man only has a few years left. They may be biologically predisposed to avoiding change. Although your friend is comfortable with sporting bet risk, he seems uninterested in using that comfort in other areas. He will come over when the big betting sites are operating in $BTC.

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

You're probably right. I remember years ago he said to me "maybe I'll just buy a bitcoin. At the time we were in a bear market, but it was still a large amount to throw in at once, and it was probably his entire liguid savings. I suggested he buy a little and start learning instead. He said something like that's no fun.

Maybe he secretly regrets not buying sooner and feels like it's too late now.

74 sats \ 6 replies \ @Coinsreporter 1 Dec

There are always some people who likes to talk about everything but when it comes to doing good things outta them, they aren't interested.

I've an uncle from village who keeps asking me about property prices in my locality. It's been like forever now when he shows up and shares about the deal he's so sure about. He asks my opinion and then in a while says that he's not interested in the property deal anymore for a certain reson that is just unique to him for denying.

In reality that uncle (I respect him a lot and that's our tradition here) of mine has always been the same

procrastinating for everything. He's just interested to talk about plans and plans and plans. I call him planner mama (mother's brother).

20 sats \ 5 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

I know people like that too. I have heard of investors described as suffering from analysis paralysis. This guy isn't like that.

43 sats \ 4 replies \ @Coinsreporter 1 Dec

I'm not entirely sure what his kind is but your recent comment about him tells the same thing.

I don't know if my uncle is really suffering from analysis paralysis but he's good at delaying everything even for smaller things. For example you'll find him sipping from his tea cup after everyone's finished theirs. He just delays everything and he has reason. If you say that your tea is now cold, he'll say he likes cold tea. He's kinda smartest and laziest person.

20 sats \ 3 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

Some of the smartest people I know are also the least successful financially.

43 sats \ 2 replies \ @Coinsreporter 1 Dec

You're right. We've a proverb in our vernacular that goes like Att ko stano kauwa goo me hi mau marat hai.

This translates The smartest (oversmart) crow always eat the shit.

This literally means what you said. I know many such people and I meet them on a regular basis. They are proud of their tiny achievements and talks about their experiences like only they have had them.

Such people can never accept the suggestions. If your friend is one among them, I'm sure he wouldn't pay heed to yours either.

20 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

I love that expression! I will start using the english translation. This friend isn't really like that though. I have other friends who are

43 sats \ 0 replies \ @Coinsreporter 1 Dec

Glad your friend isn't a crow. Then I think he's just a satisfied guy who doesn't have many expectations in his life especially at this age of his life and without kids.

I anso think we should accept the fact some people will never turn to astute materialism.

43 sats \ 0 replies \ @grayruby 1 Dec

Maybe invite him to join one of our pools. Does he like College Football? When we do the College Football playoff pool send him the link.

43 sats \ 2 replies \ @denlillaapan 1 Dec

Yep, probably.

Enough is enough, the way of things right now are decent enough. I'm not long for this world, and I don't see the point/usage/problems that this upstart money solves.

Besides, I've got a game to catch. Stop pestering me.

10 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

Good analysis. Another thing about him. He lives in a New York bubble. I have known him for almost 30 years, and the New York Times is his source for opinions on everything. I have made a point of telling him I do not read the New York Times since we met. He either doesn't believe me or doesn't hear me. He constantly will text me asking if I saw some obituary, editorial, or human interest story in the NYT, and I always respond saying I don't read the NYT. It's like it doesn't register with him. The notion that someone doesn't get their information from the gray lady is inconceivable.

43 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan 1 Dec

That is a bigger concern than him not groking bitcoin, really.

The one-sided view of peeps only reading NYT is craycray

53 sats \ 1 reply \ @DesertDave 1 Dec

It's so hard to get people to shift paradigms. Especially when they are older in my experience. It's an energetic thing. Deep down he is probably super interested. But if we don't feel like we deserve abundance, won't be able to make a shift into something that gives us abundance. It's sad and really hard to deal with sometimes. I have a few friends like this. It kind of drives me nuts. I am shifting my focus to new connections where people are outwardly curious. Otherwise I feel like I am wasting my energy. No easy task getting people to see the light of the new money.

54 sats \ 0 replies \ @flat24 1 Dec

No easy task getting people to see the light of the new money

I totally agree with you, my dear. It is a rather complicated issue. And our time and energy are limited, so we must be very selective about who we use them on.

63 sats \ 18 replies \ @zapsammy 1 Dec

on his 70th birthday, i would ask him how many more years does he expect to live, and why not longer? if he says "i have already made it," ask "made it to what? why does this number of years matter?"

when darthcoin once said he wishes to live to 120 yo, i was really inspired. the bible and the old sumerian clay tablets mention beings that lived for thousands of years. imagine how much more good a bitcoiner can do with every bonus decade of life.

20 sats \ 8 replies \ @DarthCoin 1 Dec

when darthcoin once said he wishes to live to 120 yo

I do not wish it... a gipsy woman told me that when I was a kid. here is the story #277326

What I like now is this, just laughing and enjoying.

Wisdom do not come from age, but from experiences you lived. So even if you are old enough but in your entire life didn't do anything "stupid" or at least "entertaining" then your rest of your life will not be so fun.

I myself I am getting tired of how many experiences I lived, I had a very complicated life and now at 50+ yo, I just want to relax and laugh. I just want 50 years of laughing. And I do not do nothing else.

31 sats \ 7 replies \ @zapsammy 1 Dec

one day i shall start stating the length of my life in years BB (before bitcoin) and blocks AG (after genesis). fuck this fiat timeline, who knows where we're at. i think the fiat timeline has been really screwed up, and anyways, when some people start living underground or in space, it'll be easier to sync up by block#.

20 sats \ 6 replies \ @DarthCoin 1 Dec

fuck this fiat timeline

Well said! hahaha "before /after bitcoin" age Some bitcoiners still don't know that we have a "Bitcoin time"... the UTC https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Block_timestamp

10 sats \ 4 replies \ @Satosora 1 Dec

Does anyone know who that person is in the meme? I like the mindset of a bitcoin timeline. Your fiat mindset timeline line was good!

100 sats \ 2 replies \ @zapsammy 1 Dec

love My Lunch Break. he enunciates clearly, so i can speed up his videos 2x and follow the arguments easily.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @DarthCoin 1 Dec

wow fucking insane!

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @zapsammy 1 Dec

his theory is that there was a massive global mudflood around 1700-1800's that drowned buildings and that something was also melting structures from above, especially in the middle east. really cool channel.

reply on another page

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @DarthCoin 1 Dec

me in few years 😂

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @zapsammy 1 Dec

when the borders and time zones get rearranged, or let's say i board the plane, fall asleep, and wakeup somewhere else, how is one supposed to meet and trade efficiently? time zones and daylight savings time is absolute madness.

i only recently learned about Unix; reading the description a bit hard, so i found a decent video with a quick search about Y2K38: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laUukHVZC9c

i totally expect darthcoin to be on stacker.news scolding stackers for using the UTC instead of the block# for timekeeping by 2030.

31 sats \ 8 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

It just occurred to me that he is incredibly high time preference. He and his wife have no kids. He never saved money. As a result he still works, but only to spend the money he earns.

43 sats \ 7 replies \ @zapsammy 1 Dec

have you talked to his wife? women live significantly longer. will she have a way to care for her beloved husband when he starts struggling with basic activities of daily living? tell her how Hal Finney's family was able to use his bitcoin stack to maintain his home care when he became wheelchair-bound.

21 sats \ 6 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

His wife is my wife's best friend. She is a dyed in the wool liberal democratic NYC college professor. I have a much better chance with him.

43 sats \ 4 replies \ @SimpleStacker 1 Dec

Oh man, sounds like it's gonna be a tough nut to crack.

If you don't mind my asking, @siggy47, how did you get to have the views that you have? It seems like a lot of your friends are in the highly educated, liberal, NYTimes/MSNBC bubble, but that you aren't.

21 sats \ 3 replies \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

You're right about my social circle. I think my politics were rooted in my childhood. My dad grew up in extreme poverty and was very motivated to succeed. He was just a natural born free market guy in a sea of socialists. He supported Nixon against Kennedy in 1960. That simply wasn't done in a working class catholic immigrant community.

I found the whole Austrian economics/libertarian thing on my own in my late 20s.

43 sats \ 2 replies \ @SimpleStacker 1 Dec

Interesting, thanks for sharing. Hope that some of your views will rub off on your friends.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

They're hoping the opposite 😀

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43 sats \ 0 replies \ @zapsammy 1 Dec

i wud plant the seed anyway. as long as the words penetrate the skull, they have a chance of zapping some neuron to set off a cascade. ur voice is a weapon. u can also give them a sats card with some sats loaded for his 70th birthday.

43 sats \ 0 replies \ @Aardvark 1 Dec

My dad is 70 and he owns bitcoin. He actually got into it before I did.

Although he bought it as a gamble and hasn't really learned much about it. He was going to sell at 70k because he was in the green. Luckily he trusts my opinion because he's holding now.

43 sats \ 0 replies \ @Satosora 1 Dec

Your friend might be interested in the thrill of gambling and earning money in that way, but no actual interest in the money itself. I also have a few friends like this.

43 sats \ 0 replies \ @StillStackinAfterAllTheseYears 1 Dec

I tried to get a friend (in his 50s, like yours truly) interested a few months back, hoping that the non-btc content (sports, books, tech) that keeps me engaged might also serve as a good entry point to help orange pill him. Alas, he found too much stuff that wasn't up his alley (politically, he and I are not always on the same page), and couldn't ignore it for the stuff that I thought he'd really like.

I'm sure I'll eventually get someone I know interested in SN, but it'll take time.

43 sats \ 3 replies \ @DarthCoin 1 Dec

But you didn't tried something more important: FUCK THE STATE AND THE BANKS

And remind him these 21 "why"s https://darth-coin.github.io/general/21-reasons-why-bitcoin-en.html

Also please keep in mind this meme, later you will remember why.

Then ask yourself: is it worth it, if somebody really do not want Bitcoin? Think about the other side... more sats for you if he doesn't want. We are not anymore in the early years. Now we are in the race of "how to stack more sats".

21 sats \ 0 replies \ @zapsammy 1 Dec

Now we are in the race of "how to stack more sats"

i have nearly maxxed out my own stacking potential in the way i have stacked so far (mostly converting fiat to sats). i am working on restructuring the way i live, opting out of all big fiat, learning and teaching highly niche topics.

now i focus on "how can my group stack more sats?!"

i think the era of ∞/21M meme is over, and will not work on normies. ∞/2.1q can probably work better.

21 sats \ 1 reply \ @siggy47 OP 1 Dec

He's pretty hopeless in this regard. He LIKES banks. Sometimes it's not easy finding common ground, and it's probably not worth trying.

53 sats \ 0 replies \ @DarthCoin 1 Dec

oh I see... then move on. Keep the friendship, but never mention Bitcoin in his presence. I have some friends like that and is just fine. The world and Bitcoin will not end if they do not get onboard :)