The Face Behind Bitcoin? • Hacker News Board

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#361

Post by Symmetry » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 4:59 PM UTC

bane wrote: post #101

Topic other than discussing the irresponsibility of "outing" a guy using the clever tricks of using his name and public records look ups. > A libertarian, Nakamoto encouraged his daughter to be independent, start her own business and "not be under the government's thumb," she says. "He was very wary of the government, taxes and people in charge." > What you don't know about him is that he's worked on classified stuff…

Speaking for myself, I used to be sort of libertarian when I was young. Getting a job that paid well and living on it convinced me that paying taxes really wasn't that bad and made me more liberal. Then I worked for the government for a while and found that a lot of what people complain about with regards to how the government spends money weren't just true. Nowadays I'm ok with taxes, but I'd rather the government get things done by just mailing checks to people, which is simple and hard to mess up.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#362

Post by bri3d » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 5:00 PM UTC

uptown wrote: post #71

continuations wrote: post #29

Does the concept of privacy mean anything to Newsweek?

I see it as good investigative journalism. You don't think the single person that potentially originated a new form of global currency that's dominating headlines, and receiving the attention of world leaders is newsworthy? I'm a firm believer in privacy - but when something one has put into the world stands to have a massively disruptive force, it's worth exploring who that person is, and what their motivations are.

Right, but the journalist could have found him and written an article about his background and motivation without putting a picture of his license plates, home, face, and location in a prominent article, all of this after harassing him to the point that he felt it necessary to call the police. That's just dumb.

This brings up an interesting question, too - does writing a prominent piece of software qualify you as a "public figure" and allow the paparazzi to chase you everywhere and stalk your acquaintances and family?

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#363

Post by bane » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 5:01 PM UTC

joyeuse6701 wrote: post #350

bane wrote: post #101

Topic other than discussing the irresponsibility of "outing" a guy using the clever tricks of using his name and public records look ups. > A libertarian, Nakamoto encouraged his daughter to be independent, start her own business and "not be under the government's thumb," she says. "He was very wary of the government, taxes and people in charge." > What you don't know about him is that he's worked on classified stuff…

Hypocrites are everywhere even in the private sector, nothing particularly strange that they exist in the public one. >I've even pointed out point-blank that their salaries are paid for by the same taxes they rail against incessantly and are met with blank stares or wry grimaces before they launch into an extended soliloquy about "values" or personal responsibility or some such. There's this kind of sick expectation…

Or they could just adopt rhetoric consistent with their behavior. There's some kind of strange and pervasive social fear of just being honest about ourselves that I find very troubling.

> There's this kind of sick expectation of consistency.

Is it sick to live in a constant state of dishonesty and conflict between your words, thoughts and actions or is it sick to try to live a life free of hypocrisy?

I don't think anybody would disagree that it's perfectly fine for people to have normative desires that aren't reflected in current reality. People who desire less or more taxes still pay the taxes at the current rate.

But it's an entirely different animal to rail against something that you are 100% participatory and complicit in.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#364

Post by dba7dba » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 5:04 PM UTC

bane wrote: post #101

Topic other than discussing the irresponsibility of "outing" a guy using the clever tricks of using his name and public records look ups. > A libertarian, Nakamoto encouraged his daughter to be independent, start her own business and "not be under the government's thumb," she says. "He was very wary of the government, taxes and people in charge." > What you don't know about him is that he's worked on classified stuff…

I knew a guy who used to work for a city govt and he was pretty open about his anti-tax. He complained how he saw so much waste in the govt.

And guess what? He was also working hard to switch his job into a department that had more pay/benefit to increase his pay.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#365

Post by TeMPOraL » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 5:05 PM UTC

fnordfnordfnord wrote: post #70

Tyrannosaurs wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you, but would temper it very slightly by saying that a man with a $400m fortune has some options here. That doesn't make it right and his wealth doesn't make him free game but it does mean that he's not completely been hung out to dry.

They haven't presented any evidence. The Satoshi they found sounds like a plausible Satoshi but is it really him? If he is the real Satoshi he may have lost or discarded his private keys. Some snarky comment about how this is why bloggers aren't journalists because a "real" news organization has ethics or something.

> Some snarky comment about how this is why bloggers aren't journalists because a "real" news organization has ethics or something.

Honestly, I always thought it was the other way around. This situation only confirms that.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#366

Post by bane » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 5:05 PM UTC

omegaham wrote: post #149

bane wrote: post #101

Topic other than discussing the irresponsibility of "outing" a guy using the clever tricks of using his name and public records look ups. > A libertarian, Nakamoto encouraged his daughter to be independent, start her own business and "not be under the government's thumb," she says. "He was very wary of the government, taxes and people in charge." > What you don't know about him is that he's worked on classified stuff…

Oh god yes. I'm currently a relatively junior flunky in the Marine Corps, and the GS civilians who work here are hilarious. "We need to cut the fat!" We work at a minor airbase in the middle of nowhere... oh. Oops. Whatever we are, it sure as hell ain't muscle. "Government spending is out of control" while talking about how they exploit the DTS system to get as much per diem as possible. "Those lazy people who expect…

One of the things I find curious is the dichotomy between rhetoric and intent.

"We need to shrink the government!"

Sequestration happens

"Well not those specific things I like!"

Doesn't that imply then that those bits that shouldn't have been shrunk are therefore not part of what they think is "the government"?

Considering that the list of things that usually people who want to shrink the government think should be exempted usually includes the military, I find that particularly troublesome.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#367

Post by danmaz74 » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 5:06 PM UTC

jxf wrote: post #28

So Newsweek outed a guy who allegedly owns half a billion dollars in pseudo-untraceable, digital cash? I hope they're also going to chip in for a permanent security detail... More seriously, I think they could have done a better job reporting on the identity without giving so much away: * A picture of his house is posted, identical to the one in Google Street View * The license plate is relatively clear in the high-r…

I don't know if that's your case, but I can't help finding it hilarious to see so many anarcho-capitalists here criticizing Newsweek for following their own interest...

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#368

Post by ctdonath » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 5:06 PM UTC

bane wrote: post #281

ctdonath wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because you live/work in close & frequent proximity with people exemplifying such outrageous cognitive dissonance does not negate the outrageousness thereof. And just because you don't know whether Nakamoto suffered & acted on such cognitive dissonance doesn't justify posting outrageous examples of what you're imputing.

I guess everything is outrageous then so nothing is?

Who said everything is outrageous? That X is not uncommon doesn't mean everything is X.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#369

Post by bmelton » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 5:08 PM UTC

Jtsummers wrote: post #287

MadManE wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taking advantage of the existing situation for maximum personal gain doesn't indicate doublethink. It only indicates that they care more about themselves than they care about "the greater good" - which, in my opinion is how it should be. Somebody's going to be getting paid for doing nothing - it might as well be me.

It's doublethink or hypocrisy to complain about people getting fat off the government dole while getting fat off the government dole.

Not necessarily. If I worked for the TSA or something, because that was the best paying job that was available, I wouldn't see it as remotely hypocritical to be concerned with politicians, who swore an oath to the Constitution, specifically passing bills to line their pockets.

It's easy to say that a truly just person would not work in an industry that benefitted from tax dollars they would rather not have paid, but considering that the government tends to overpay, it is often the best position for one to be in.

Re: The Face Behind Bitcoin?

#370

Post by bane » Thu, Mar 06, 2014, 5:09 PM UTC

icebraining wrote: post #332

cairnsh wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A libertarian government worker would be more like a nuclear engineer who thinks nuclear energy plants are intrinsically dangerous. So dangerous that they should be avoided if at all possible.

That's still not hypocrite, because the power plant would be built anyway . Her/His action is not causing the power plant to happen, unless somehow s/he's the only nuclear engineer available.

No, performing actions that are different than your beliefs is literally the definition of hypocrisy. The fact that somebody else might take the actions anyways is irrelevant.