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NFTs Are a Dangerous Trap

seths.blog

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Re: NFTs Are a Dangerous Trap

#321

Post by pwm »

eeegnu wrote: post #294
pwm wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Preface: I'm not endorsing NFTs nor do I know much about them and personally I would never buy one. > Why can't NFTs be done without a blockchain? In the physical world it is rather involved to check wether eg. a painting is the original one and not a copy. A simple way to define original is that it came first, before any of its copies. In the digital world the blockchain acts as the canonical timeline. You or anyone…

> The ones that stay PoW might solely use non-CO2 producing methods in the future What does this even mean? How can a Blockchain possibly enforce that your electricity used in mining is coming from a carbon neural source?

Blockchains can't and won't enforce it. They will be forced to rely CO2-neutral renewables when fossil fuels are taxed to oblivion and/or outlawed. This also points to the absurdity of blaming energy usage of things rather than attacking the root of the issue.

Re: NFTs Are a Dangerous Trap

#323

Post by pmlnr »

NiceWayToDoIT wrote: post #285

So, lets think, we have following issues: - Climate change - Artificial general intelligence - Biotechnology risk - Ecological collapse - Molecular nanotechnology - Nuclear holocaust - Overpopulation - Global pandemic - ... Most of them caused by way we use our energy and time. Oh, yes we also have excess of computing power ... hm what shell we do? Solution: Let spend even more energy on large calculations in order t…

Teaching people that being "rich" is not a goal would help in the progress. The goal is enough: a point when one still yearns, so they can progress, but they don't suffer or live in fear for losing warmth, shelter, food, etc. But this idea seems far from the majority of the US mindset, and it's polluting many parts of the world as well.

Re: NFTs Are a Dangerous Trap

#324

Post by supermatt »

anonporridge wrote: post #277
supermatt wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing, but they can only sign the "first" once

They could mint or 'sign' as many as they want. But like a painting that can be copied, people decide to disproportionately value the first one...just because.

sure, but unless they are signed in the same block, then there will be a "first".

Re: NFTs Are a Dangerous Trap

#325

Post by dvfjsdhgfv »

NiceWayToDoIT wrote: post #285

So, lets think, we have following issues: - Climate change - Artificial general intelligence - Biotechnology risk - Ecological collapse - Molecular nanotechnology - Nuclear holocaust - Overpopulation - Global pandemic - ... Most of them caused by way we use our energy and time. Oh, yes we also have excess of computing power ... hm what shell we do? Solution: Let spend even more energy on large calculations in order t…

> - Artificial general intelligence

Not only we don't have AGI but there is an ongoing discussion whether it's possible to have it at all.

Re: NFTs Are a Dangerous Trap

#326

Post by tal8d »

tal8d wrote: post #104

It is odd, I've been involved in the cryptocurrency scene from the beginning, and I've seen the whole "Bitcoin kills Mother Gaia" talking point pop up every couple of years - but I've never seen such prolonged parroting as this last cycle. It is a silly complaint, because it never considers the wastefulness of the status quo. But it is an interesting method of attack, trying to conceal the fact that it is a call for…

Oh and it gets better: known bad data is still repeated, despite the poster being told why it was bad data - over a year ago. Pointing this out results in flagging, for reasons that have nothing to do with ego or narrative continuity... surely.

Re: NFTs Are a Dangerous Trap

#327

Post by jwilber »

NiceWayToDoIT wrote: post #285

So, lets think, we have following issues: - Climate change - Artificial general intelligence - Biotechnology risk - Ecological collapse - Molecular nanotechnology - Nuclear holocaust - Overpopulation - Global pandemic - ... Most of them caused by way we use our energy and time. Oh, yes we also have excess of computing power ... hm what shell we do? Solution: Let spend even more energy on large calculations in order t…

AGI in no way, shape, or form belongs on that list.

Re: NFTs Are a Dangerous Trap

#328

Post by sradman »

This article by the author/podcaster Seth Godin [1] highlights the issues with Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) [2], built on the Ethereum cryptocurrency. It extends the ideas introduced in an Everest Pipkin post [3]:

> Cryptocurrencies and NFTs are an absolute disaster for so many more reasons than the ecological.

The ecological issue is due to the energy consumption required to perform (some^) cryptocurrency computations.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Godin

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-fungible_token

[3] https://everestpipkin.medium.com/but-the-environmental-issue...

^EDIT: added “(some)” cryptocurrency computations based on Tenoke’s comment

Re: NFTs Are a Dangerous Trap

#329

Post by marshmallow_12 »

pmlnr wrote: post #323
NiceWayToDoIT wrote: post #285

So, lets think, we have following issues: - Climate change - Artificial general intelligence - Biotechnology risk - Ecological collapse - Molecular nanotechnology - Nuclear holocaust - Overpopulation - Global pandemic - ... Most of them caused by way we use our energy and time. Oh, yes we also have excess of computing power ... hm what shell we do? Solution: Let spend even more energy on large calculations in order t…

Teaching people that being "rich" is not a goal would help in the progress. The goal is enough: a point when one still yearns, so they can progress, but they don't suffer or live in fear for losing warmth, shelter, food, etc. But this idea seems far from the majority of the US mindset, and it's polluting many parts of the world as well.

The voice of reason right until the end. The world has problems. Lets blame the US. Even if you are right, it will help nobody to say so.

Re: NFTs Are a Dangerous Trap

#330

Post by qeternity »

The arguments made by people around NFTs strike me as suffering from the same maximalism that people apply to decentralization and inflation.

Digital is not always better than physical. Decentralized is not always better than centralized. Deflationary is not always better than inflationary.

All of these exist in a continuum, each with costs and benefits depending on a number of other external factors.

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