:-)~MIKE~(-: On Thu, Mar 20, 2014 at 12:42 PM, Mike Bushroe wrote: > *"what good is it? " *Finally, a useful comment on cryptocurrency. When > all is said and done, it is just a pattern of magnetic fields in a thin > film of magnetic material. Now, you can say the same thing for the work I > do. Looked at in simplest, physical terms, I get paid to make patterns of > tiny magnetic fields on films on disks. But that patterns that I help make > reduce down to new programs or firmware to make our customer's equipment > work better, designs for new, better hardware or equipment, instructions on > how to use our hardware and/or software. In short, for our customers at > least, the patterns do reduce down to something of real, intrinsic value, > and the amount of value is determined by the quality of the pattern of > magnetic fields. > > But in a bitcoin or other cryptocurrency, although the pattern of magnetic > fields is designed so that no one else can copy it and claim whatever value > it has for me, the pattern has no meaning, use, or value other than > proclaim that it is. Bitcoins have value only because people think they are > cute or fun or whatever, and are willing to trade things of real value for > them. And even pieces of paper with patterns of ink on them have real value > in this sense, because so many, many people will gladly trade them for > items that are of intrinsic value. If suddenly people lost interest in > buying bitcoins (fraud, scandal, etc), then there would be no bottom to the > real world value of those patterns of magnetic fields, because they don't > correspond to anything of intrinsic value. Accept maybe the ones where you > generate special sequences of prime numbers to mine the coins. The sequence > of primes may have some slight value to mathematicians. Or maybe not. > > So if you want to have fun with virtual money and have grown tired of > playing with Monopoly money, then bitcoins may be something to play with. > But you are not likely to see me exchanging real money for patterns of > magnetic fields that do nothing more than proclaim that they are patterns > of magnetic fields. > > [/soap box] > > Mike > > >> From: Michael Havens >> To: Main PLUG discussion list >> Cc: >> Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 17:04:38 -0700 >> Subject: Re: bitcoin mining >> never mind.... I just looked at their 'market place'. I think that it >> probably is going nowhere. I mean if you can't buy food *what good is >> it?* >> >> :-)~MIKE~(-: >> >> >> -- > "Creativity is intelligence having fun." -- Albert Einstein > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >