I genuinely believe most people are brain washed actually
Discussion
Most people have never been trained to actually think. At least not critically.
This is a tool I set up for myself to use that helps quite a bit.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11rc6zyPOmoARzBbMv1hGbZL5vA85O2fG/view?usp=sharing
I like it. Really good stuff.
I only have one minor nit to pick which is the middle line of the mnemonic: Laughter Always Helps.
I understand the sentiment and agree that if people remain in a state of good humor, that can do wonders to cut tension. On the other hand, Saul Alinsky's 5th rule for radicals is that ridicule is man's most potent weapon. Alinsky said "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. There is no defense. It is almost impossible to counterattack ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, who then react to your advantage."
When a person is skillful and loving with humor, it is water on the fire, but when a person is being derisive and ridiculous, it is fuel on the fire.
This is part of a book I'm writing on wealth based systems helping to build a Living Civilization.
After whatever this was I engaged in, I couldn’t agree more.
Between you, me, and HODL, I can say for sure that one of us possesses robust critical thinking skills.
[3am dorm conversation intensifies]
Depends on how loosely you define the term. Maybe. Maybe we’re all inside a simulation and everyone’s just LLMs with slightly different training data.
Bitcoiners are no exception, i hope you understand this. And most aren't brainwashed, they just lack efficient critical thinking skills which could, in turn, make them more susceptible to a form of more severe mental manipulation like "brainwashing" or indoctrination–whichever term you prefer.
Teaching the Trivium can help 😀
For some it may be too late😬. He's seems lile your typical angry maxi who gets his panties in a bunch whenever someone disagrees. Oh well...
nostr:nprofile1qqsp4lsvwn3aw7zwh2f6tcl6249xa6cpj2x3yuu6azaysvncdqywxmgpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqzenhwden5te0ve5kcar9wghxummnw3ezuamfdejj7mnsw43rzun5d3ckxcfcwgmxzatev9mn2m34dqekcdf5xgexgmf5wde8jdty0fnx2ef5xcunven3v5u8xdn3va6kg6mnxajx5arxwvlkyun0v9jxxctnws7hgun4v5dpfm4n is a good man. He's not typical, he's not angry, he doesn't wear panties and he doesn't care who disagrees with him...
but he is a maxi.
I never said i respect maxis. He's still too far too narrow-minded with his approach, though.
Fyi, saying that you believe most are "brainwashed" is a form of self-indocrination in itself. Most people know that fiat is consistently losing purchasing power, most are aware of the endless levels of geopolitical drama that's occurring on the global chessboard we occupy, and most are at least aware of Bitcoin's existence. The issue is that most don't understand how to opt out or, in Bitcoin's case, opt in.
Bro no one is aware of any of that shit
That is the dumbest shit I've ever heard.
If you really think “most people know that fiat is consistently losing purchasing power?” You’re in a bubble. Most people don’t even know what fiat is.
🙋 i dont know what fiat it
it sounds like a car
like a mazda
Fiat means "by decree" or, in other words, "because we said so" where "we" presents itself as some kind of authority.
right and i know it is related to no longer on the gold standard but i dont know what it ~means~ like the 27 years of thinking to arrive fully at the meaning the cascade
like the difference between being in italian class and a teacher calling on you and you memorized the sentence so you can say it versus being able to think in the language and make the sentence
that i have memorized answers does not mean i know a damn thing is what im saying
Think about a simple gold coin.
Think about the cost that goes into producing that coin.
Think about the manpower and special mining equipment and the land and the energy inputs and material inputs that are necessary to extract just the gold ore from the earth.
Think about how much money that all costs.
Then the ore has to be transported to some refinery. Transportation energy and manpower and equipment are more costs.
The refinery runs on land, energy, manpower, and materials so that's more costs.
Once the gold is refined, it still has to be coined. The coining process requires land, equipment, energy, and manpower so, again, that's more costs.
Then the coins have to be sold and transported to middlemen and gold retailers. More transportation costs.
The middlemen, the coiners, the refiners, and the miners aren't doing this for no profit either, so there's profit margins baked into all of these costs.
Gold is valuable too, so the refinery, coinery, transports, and resellers all have security costs.
All of that cost gets averaged out and baked into the selling price of 1 Troy ounce of gold. So, right now, it costs roughly $4,000 USD to do all of that and produce a gold coin.
That valuation is not by decree. That valuation is simple accounting for costs associated with the process that is the business model.
Now compare that gold coin worth $4,000 and compare it to a stack of 40 $100 bills which we are told is equal in value to that gold coin.
Why is that stack of paper as valuable as that gold coin?
It's much cheaper to print the paper money than it is to create gold coins, right?
That makes paper money "easy" money and gold "hard" money.
Typically the best money is the hardest money. People, over time, figure this out. The people who stick to easy money become victims of debasement as the money they use will get printed.
Naturally, people are going to be drawn to harder money so then why would we use money that is legislated by some supposed authority by decree (fiat)?
The decree is necessary because without it, the people would use the hardest money. The people making the decree do not want the people to use the hardest money. The people making the decree want the people to use a form of easy money over which the people making the decree have monopolistic power and control.
You don't need to know the term "fiat" to be aware that the currency being used is losing purchasing power🙄. Uh no. You're the one in a bubble. Hanging out with too many like-minded people who just agree with each other all day. That's fine though. All btc maxis have a tendency to be like this.
Most people don’t even know that man, they know that things are getting more “expensive” but they attribute it to corporate greed or other false explanations. Very few are aware of the fact that their momey is eroding. That’s part of the illusion that keeps it going.
im not sure erosion is inherently compelling as a threat.
i once tried to invent a new kind of money and even called my econnomics phd friend about it in like 2012 and the central part of it was that it ~did~ rot, you couldnt hoard
like a store of potatoes for a season, it wasnt if some is good more is better
there was such a thing as too much and didnt get thru them all and now your potatoes are rotten and moldy in the cellar
Yes, money needs to be durable.
You might appreciate this letter I wrote a couple of years ago after my local mayor reached out and brought a bill that was concerning.
https://medium.com/@redtailhawk1923/vote-no-on-mo-hb-1165-32fb158c9689
I'll check it out after dinner.
Corporate greed is a genuine issue that is, in some ways, seperate from currency valuation. And it is still a contributing factor. Sure, there are some false explanations that circulate but those can be debunked with enough self-education... much like how many of my friends and family have done. You underestimate how many people are actually aware of the fact that their currency is getting continuously debased. Lol YOU ARE IN A BUBBLE. These people who are unaware may be a majority percentage, but i feel you believe like 95% of the global population remain oblivious.
Ask the average person on the street what backs the dollar. A majority of them will tell you gold.
I've asked plenty! Not on the street, but places that i visit. None know for certain and many just say that it "used to be backed by gold". Most just think that money is money and that we have to find a better one. Many are looking into the real estate and crypto market, atm. That almost always leads to them finding bitcoin. They are not oblivious to the fact that bitcoin has outpaced gold in the past five years. They observe very well. They're open to suggestions.
speaking of which, I saw this gold coin at the Perth Mint yesterday. 1012 kg 99.99% pure with a face value of $1M AUD, and gold value of ca. $200M AUD. By my rough calcs that is ca. $30 USD/oz face value. FDR would love it...then confiscate it. 
The best first approximation is that nobody knows anything