Excellent analogy. Most people do not see either the revolutionary aspects of new technology, or the blatant problems of existing systems. They just sort of enter the world, and accept that "this is the way things are" and just roll with it. Then once that new technology becomes popular enough they all grab it and act like they weren't just ignoring it (or even criticizing it) a week ago.

Some people are depressed because they left too many coins in mtgox.

People have already made a mistake of not taking it until now, mostly these people prefer to follow the regualr patterns and won't take it until it's globally accepted (the point we are moving toward). You might have convinced one though so keep the effort,.

I'm not sure how the perils of a cashless society are all that more dangerous then the perils of a cash society though. We've had to deal with getting mugged, robbed, etc... for centuries and we've figured out ways to cope with that, didn't me? At least my credit card doesn't get stolen online at gunpoint.....

I think the problem lies in semantics.

I remember back in the mid 90s when there were a ton of "zomg! the illuminati is going to implant us all and make us use a one world currency in a cashless society so they control whether you eat or not!" conspiracy predictions...and of course, nobody who is sane would want that and nobody would comply with that.

Please keep in mind just how challenging it is to force people to do something, and it's even harder to get them to voluntarily do it.

But today, we're pretty much a cashless society - in the respect that hardly anyone carries cash anymore. It's all debit/credit cards and gift cards.

Also keep in mind that there are only a few hundred thousand politicians and "leaders" world wide and no matter what they pull out of their asses, from policy to law to threats and ultimatums, they do not have anywhere near the combined manpower to enforce a global initiative, even with the threat of military power, to force 7 billion people to do anything that 7 billion people don't want to do.

I've seen a lot of warped posts and comments since learning more about bitcoin that make claims about bitcoin being invented by the NSA or the illuminati or the elite bankers or the world governments as a way to issue in its one world currency to enslave us...and these things are absurd.

I'm nowhere near as tech savvy as whoever created bitcoin but I've learned enough to confidently conclude that while some elitists band of governments or bankers may want a global currency, bitcoin is clearly and undeniably NOT IT. Bitcoin undermines everything they're about so I can't see them creating their own undoing on purpose.

If the world adopted bitcoin, exchanged fiat for btc and then stored it offline in wallets, and became the norm, the street muggings would probably go the way of bank robberies as it's too much effort for probably zero gain as nobody's carting wallets around anymore.

Being able to move money around without having physical holdings isn't a bad thing. Cashless, in the context of strictly digital currency is also not a bad thing...and it forces people to take full responsibility for their own financial security...and it's long since passed time for the planet of masters of the universe to grow the fuck up already and stop acting like children waiting for someone bigger to tell them how to think.


That leaves offline transactions. As long as there is power, people can trade offline as easily as online.

That leaves a power-less world....and if that happens, something catastrophic went down and bitcoin, fiat and credit cards would all be replaced with another form of currency - water, food, ammo, medical supplies, booze, cigarettes, etc.

If you're depressed, try a zero carb diet for a week. Basically just eat meat for every meal. After four days all of the existing sugars and carbs will have left your system and your blood sugars will stabilize. The diet sucks but it's worth it just to know what life should be like.
[/quote]

Try that but add a daily tablespoon of coconut oil. It literally freed my brother from years of depression and anxiety disorders.

LOL! Just reminds me of when I got my first tamagotchi from my parents back in the 90s. And all my friends were like "wtf. who needs that?" and I was like "lol, tamagotchi is the future! tamagotchi to the moon!" I even showed them a completely unrelated picture of a bell curve but they couldn't make the connection because there was none.

And now, who was right? Some people just don't want to be part of the future.

Imagine for a moment you wake up from a pleasant dream, only to find yourself in a nightmare world of ignorance, fear, and global mismanagement of resources. No, that's not right.. hang on let me start again.

Imagine you are a member of a human tribe, in pre-history. Your tribe has gone to sleep together around the campfire, as you do each night. You awake to the sound of rustling bushes. You look around.
You are the only one awake. You notice the fire at the center of your camp has died down to a simmer. You hear another noise and look over your shoulder. You spot the eyes.

You know those eyes, that unmistakable color. Those eyes mean hunger, they mean pain and death for your people. Wolves, through the trees. You desperately try to shake your friends and loved ones, slap them in the face, pour water over them - nothing works. Still they sleep. They wolves draw near, and you begin to panic. But you must remain calm, you must be resolute - your survival and theirs depends on it.

That's more or less what it can sometimes feel like being a person of exceptional intelligence in 2014.

As ignorance is bliss, so knowledge is suffering.

I suffer because I see what most do not. I suffer because I cannot make them see, despite all my brilliance I cannot undo a lifetime of nation-state indoctrination.

Intelligence is more a curse than a blessing, because those with it are forced to WATCH humanity's cyclic self-destruction. Now you know.

You are not God and can't tell people what should do! No need to  care about ignorant people or even fall into depression which is stupid. If they donot listen, just let them go. You have done what is necessary. You should run to the hill quickly. I think more and more people will be aware of approaching tsunami. They will follow your step.

In this reference the difference between an early adopter paying $$$ for an iPhone in the early days and trying to get someone to buy bitcoins today is the phone was a tangible product purchase.  The masses have a hard time seeing value in Bitcoin and what they get for it outside of the FUD around it.  Consumers are moving digitally as the original article stated but why use Bitcoin - My Credit Card works fine.