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Bill Gates Says that Bitcoin is bad For the Planet

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Re: Bill Gates Says that Bitcoin is bad For the Planet

#521

Post by threevox »

zepto wrote: post #243
nelsontodd wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it will eliminate the need for the military or police force entirely. I have seen a lot of bold bitcoin claims but I don't think anyone really does. My post was referring to how the US has killed lots of people to keep strong dollar. I think its feasible that a true global currency (possibly bitcoin) could prevent violence like this.

People will kill each other over the energy resources needed to run the Bitcoin network.

Energy scarcity is a thing of the past for anyone who wants it to be. Between solar and nuclear, it's a helluva lot easier to get basically unlimited renewable energy than it is to go to war. Malthus hasn't been right about the way the world works in 200 years

Re: Bill Gates Says that Bitcoin is bad For the Planet

#522

Post by 0beah »

saalweachter wrote: post #220
jetpackjoe wrote: post #9

There are so many better crypto-currencies. Better for the environment because they use proof-of-stake, and not proof-of-work. Better for users because transactions are confirmed in seconds, not hours, and without the ridiculous fees that Bitcoin has. I think this shows how truly powerful the network effect, and being first to market is. Because without those things, Bitcoin would be nothing.

You know what actually bothers me the most about all crypto-currencies? None of them are actually money, like in the paper-or-gold-coin sense. They're all ledgers. The thing about money is that I can hand it to someone . Possession of the money is possession of the money and third parties don't need to get involved in every transaction. I can hand someone dollars and take a sandwich and walk away, transaction done. T…

There was an article linked on HN talking about exactly this.

https://dergigi.com/2021/01/14/bitcoin-is-time/

Re: Bill Gates Says that Bitcoin is bad For the Planet

#524

Post by rank0 »

ckosidows wrote: post #341
xkjkls wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or just hunger in general. Before the agriculture revolution starvation was the primary cause of human death.

Was it? I know a couple books[1] that suggest life prior to the agricultural revolution wasn't nearly as famine-stricken as we tend to think it was. These books claim hunter gatherers were quite proficient at finding enough sustenance. Obviously starvation was still possible and likely, but was it the primary cause of death? Is there some more evidence that humans were suffering from starvation before agriculture? Wo…

That same book claims that the agricultural revolution was responsible for human specialization. We were able to feed larger families/tribes and develop non-food related skills. Without agriculture, those extra people would've died aka "thin out" as you mentioned.

Re: Bill Gates Says that Bitcoin is bad For the Planet

#525

Post by dmingod666 »

mancerayder wrote: post #438
kitcar wrote: post #11

Bitcoin is an almost perfect exploitation of humanities fatal flaws (greed, unwillingness to acknowledge externalities - i.e. selfishness). It's that old SF-trope that the cause of many of humanity's biggest problems is humans.

Not a bitcoin fanboy, but that's a bit strong a statement. What is "greed" versus motivation for innovation? Is innovation rewarded with (taxed, regulated) wealth greed, and if so, is that "bad"? And if it creates Teslas and rockets that land, and robots on Mars that last a year or more analyzing samples, is it a fatal flaw? Some more questions... So let's say BTC is greed - the many financial instruments out there,…

I don't have any but I get the feeling that a lot of people here are just salty that they were thinking of buying and didn't. Just venting that regret..

Re: Bill Gates Says that Bitcoin is bad For the Planet

#526

Post by asdff »

acruns wrote: post #374

At what point did Bill become an expert on everything? It's cute that he takes his little bag of books and secluded himself in his she-shed and reads. But honestly, why do we now trust him to be an expert on so many subjects when he hasn't even gotten an undergraduate degree in anything, let alone spent decades studying a field. I can't tell you how many books I have read by experts that later turned out to completel…

Where is this rage coming from? It doesn't take an expert to see the damage bitcoin is causing for the planet, the exernalities are pretty clearly outlined (although conspicuously ignored by crypto-evangelicals). His quote in the article is true.

I also don't understand the attacks on his academic credentials. He had been working in his field since he was 13, he's published in CS, and he was taking graduate level classes at Harvard as an undergrad before he dropped out to found Microsoft. So yes, he has spent decades studying a field. The man is unarguably a credentialed engineer, and anyone in this field should know that you don't need a B.S. in CS or a PhD in C.S. for that.

Re: Bill Gates Says that Bitcoin is bad For the Planet

#527

Post by ncmncm »

mutatio wrote: post #359
Justsignedup wrote: post #351

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The cause of most problems for any biological creature on earth is external. All animals compete fiercely for survival among the elements, among other creatures, among each other. Survival is the biggest problem for all animals. Except humans. More humans die each year due to other humans, or due to things other humans have created (for example humans ignoring mask mandates). Point is, we are the only specie who has…

Evolutionists like Dawkins pose that most organisms are in fiercest competition with members of their own species. You and I compete for identical resources: mates, jobs etc.

Other species have mostly arranged not to kill one another in these competitions. E.g. vipers & komodo dragons don't bite while wrestling. Walruses get pretty ripped-up, but usually don't die.

Ganging up to kill seems to be mostly a primate thing.

Re: Bill Gates Says that Bitcoin is bad For the Planet

#528

Post by groos »

kempbellt wrote: post #428
meowkit wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The thing about money is that I can hand it to someone. Honestly don’t know if you’re trolling or just old. I used paper money once last year. To buy weed. Because the federal government has determined I am not responsible enough to use or own weed. No one I know uses physical cash anymore. We’re moving away from physical items where possible, not toward it. I would rather have my currency on a public DLT than cont…

> Honestly don’t know if you’re trolling or just old. No need to be ageist. It's a fair perspective. There is a quality of independence and agency that comes from being able to purchase things with cash. Ironically, your weed transaction is a perfect example of that. I am a little confused by your argument though. Are you saying that you used cash because you couldn't pay legally with a debit/credit card or something…

Re. buying/selling with BTC, one other problem is stability of value. Without stability, usability as a currency becomes hard. How does one even list items' cost in BTC when the value of BTC is constantly fluctuating?

Re: Bill Gates Says that Bitcoin is bad For the Planet

#530

Post by thebean11 »

jasonlaramburu wrote: post #427
TameAntelope wrote: post #409

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're getting a lot of responses, because this is a pretty common complaint about crypto, and it taps into a great "WELL ACTUALLY" moment, because your concern is close enough to the "at least real money is backed by something" misconception (which, tbh, I'm sure you're aware of at this point if you weren't already). Fundamentally, what folks are trying to get to with crypto is a trust-less system, one that can oper…

Crypto is 'backed' by the sunk cost of the energy used to mine it.

ETH is backed by the distributed computer you can pay ETH to execute software on.
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