Re:Bitcoin heading towards $200, new bubble forming
by dragonwriter on Saturday October 19, 2013 @09:21PM
(#6578648)
> That's exactly the spot where I disagree. Understanding political-economy properly requires a certain amount of cynicism, that can only come from observing the world for a while
Cynicism hinders understanding, though it may be a product of understanding, and while cynicism may come from age, its a whole lot more related to particular experiences interacting with underlying personality.
> For what it's worth, I didn't feel that way when I was 22.
For what it's worth, I might have been more inclined to your simplistic paean to the magical powers of age and the value of cynicism when I was 22 -- or at least 17-18. At 40, not so much.
Re:Bitcoin heading towards $200, new bubble forming
by jbooth on Sunday October 20, 2013 @09:27AM
(#6579821)
I was actually thinking about this comment, and I agree with you for all cases where we're not radically rethinking existing systems.
Note that I wasn't really arguing from authority except when giving him investment advice. Also note that I could tell his age from his arguments.
That's exactly the spot where I disagree. Understanding political-economy properly requires a certain amount of cynicism that can only come from observing the world for a while. Very different from programming skill. In programming, "this time it's different" can be true sometimes, we've only got 60-odd years of programming. In political economy, after 3,000 years or so, it's almost never the case.
For what it's worth, I didn't feel that way when I was 22.