img src
Mortality of Ideas
As much as it may seem like I'm backtracking a bit too much, I happen to think that there is a valid reason for me doing so. No one can really deny that ideas have many similarities to living things, to life itself. Yes, some of them are adept to survival, some of them are quick to adapt, to evolve, but some of course are either short lived or simply reach the end of their life cycle.
History is full of examples, and all we have to do is look at one field to see it, science. So many ideas have come and gone, that listing them would be ridiculous, but the point I'm trying to make does not require me doing so. In other words, the scientific knowledge that is still useful to us, has remained as part of our social dynamics because of that fact, its usefulness is its strength.
Which basically leads me to they keyword I want to explore: Usefulness - If Ideas must be useful, must serve a purpose in other for us sapiens to keep them in mental rotation, then it's easy to see why some were doomed from the beginning. Novelty, or fads as we call them are hardly useful, they are just entertaining.
Will Bitcoin ever become useless?
Of course I don't know the answer per say, but I happen to think that it's extremely unlikely. I mean, think about it for a second. We would have to exist in a society that does not value nor want peer to peer transactions. A society that scoffs at the idea of financial liberty and freedom. Us, the sapiens, we would have to want to get rid of these somewhat idealistic thoughts.
Now, I must clarify one thing. I'm not by all means a bitcoin maximalist nor do I think that white papers are holy in any way shape or form, quite the opposite. White Papers or more accurately said Cryptocurrencies are ideas, and as such they require constant evolution to survive.
So to say that Bitcoin will become useless one day is to believe that the idea cannot adapt, and that is hard for me to accept since all I see are people trying to make that happen.
Currency or Storage of Value?
Here is the other conundrum, the other point of contention. When this whole BITCOIN idea got it's first legs it was thought of as an answer to currencies in the whole sense of the word. Meaning, a virtual token that people would use to buy a cup of coffee, a sandwich, something for the day to day. Today all those years later, it has evolved to something else entirely.
Because of the Tribal nature of us the simple humans, we tend to mud the waters a little too much on the subject. The discussions become unproductive, and the loudest of voices on the cryptospace screaming at each other on a cruise, basically showcases comically everything that is wrong with cryptocurrencies and their outward projection.
But the events that transpired recently put focal attention on the worse problem we have, at least in my opinion, in the crypto communities: We are ideologically divided. And in this truth, in the name of our ideas, we are willing to work, maybe unknowingly, against our own interests.
It's only because of this somewhat ugly division that I find it plausible that BITCOIN could fail, although still very unlikely from it ever happening. Again, simply because the basic idea, the core, the meat and potatoes that attracted all of us to this space has never really gone missing, not entirely.
So, can Bitcoin be Uninvented?
Let's say that technically yes, but practically its impossible. The ideas are more likely to continue to evolve, change names, change teams, or anything else you can think of. But, the power behind the idea of financial freedom is too great for just anything to disrupt it.
Let's not forget how many times BITCOIN has been declared dead, yes, hundreds. All this to say that I'm confident the idea is as resilient as ideas get, and it's likely not going anywhere. However focusing on today's bear market, on how you just 10% of your position when you are looking back seven days, is to practice myopic thinking.
How, and I do mean How can you uninvent BITCOIN?
• CNN is such a joke these days
• Why do we feel Sympathy & Empathy?
• A full plate, but that's ok
• Helpie's application for MSP Witness Support
• Helpie is now a Steem Witness
I guess there is a possibility. If as a species we continue destroying eachother, there might come the time, as it hs been repeatedly portrayed in sci-fi literature, that we will destroy all technology and go back to cave town. Then, what would be the point of cryptos if we won't even have a computer or cell phone to make it work. There won't be even food, etc.
That's not a far-fetched scenario. Either we do it ourselves or nature may pull some strings and help us a little
wow, well... Obviously I did not push my mental experiment that far, but of course.. you are very right my friend.
It's easy to be pushed that far when you are in fatalistic mode. I really want to believe that we can make it pass our vices, but every day i wake up with news that say otherwise.
new age and new idea, all very difficult to sink in for the average person
its not going anywhere my friend, watch for the 20th.. just watch.... 2 more days.
What if one day the earth and all life on it were aware of the symbiotic relationship they were all in together on some deep but more concious level. And instead of competing and trying to get more than everyone else at the expense of the very system that gave us the opportunity to live, we all did our best to help all others involved in that relationship?
I think Bitcoin may become obsolete in that scenario. ;)
Although I guess that wasn’t really the question, for some reason I just got sucked back to the Foundation series by Asimov and had to share. Thats some good fiction right thar.
Dude... I'm a big Asimov fan... My girl got me into his books and I was glued like a fly on paper...
Heck yeah man, and theres so much of it...
I don't think that Bitcoin is going anywhere, but I feel like the fact that so many banks and big finance companies have gotten involved it is making it really hard for BTC to evolve into any real storage of value.
I mean, I really want it to be. But you have these horrible people like Goldman Sachs who foam at the mouth when looking at something like Bitcoin in it's unregulated state.
With a few words, they can send the price crashing, then buy up millions of dollars worth, wait a few days and sell it just to talk trash again. It will be a cash cow for them until they wear out normal investors to the point where everyone is scared to buy any.
I hope that I'm wrong, but who knows what the future holds. What I would like to see is more trading pairs with fiat to detach BTC from every other coin so that prices of great coins (like Steem) are not so adversely affected by the market manipulations.
until regulation is clear on this we wont see it... some people hate that I even use the word, but tis how tis..
Well Meno i dont agree with your conclusion that if Bitcoin disapears that people dont want P2P transfers.
For me its like saying: well if floppy drives fail, then people dont want digital storage..
Well no. We want P2P, but what we want is it being efficient, fast, feeless, secure, censorship resistent, goverment action resistent, etc..
Bitcoin doesnt fullfil most those things just like floppy disk didnt once CDs came along.
Bitcoin will become redundant in my opinion over time and a new thing will replace it. Even now there are blockchains with far superior tech.
Id say im a Bitcoin fatalist. Haha. Crypto cannot advance or get mainstream adoption with bitcoin leading the way. It took us as far as it can.
/me flags lord butter
I see your point... but I think its here to stay...
You got a 54.49% upvote from @ocdb courtesy of @meno!