Anodyne
Wednesday, March 05, 2014
 

Thought Experiment

Replace the word "Bitcoin" with the words "Beanie Baby." Or, "tulip bulb."

Thus:

"I am in Japan and have deposited 12.499 million Yen (about USD 122,000) at Mt. Gox from October to December 2013. I currently have 175 Beanie Babies and 13,000 Yen in cash at their exchange. I also have a Premium status account [ROTFL]. Please let me know how to proceed. That was most of my retirement money."

(qv. Benjamin's distinction, emphasized in Arendt's foreward to Illuminations, between producers and agents)

FULL DISCLOSURE:  I read up on Beanie Baby mining after reading a New Yorker article on the mathematics of mining & the Winklevoss twins' involvement with Beanie Babies.   How much did I read?  Enough to fully grasp the mechanics of mining, & also enough to know that I had no personal interest in mining Beanie Babies, or in dealing with the shrill techno-libertarians who had rallied around Beanie Babies like seagulls on a sandwich.

FURTHER FULL DISCLOSURE: One of my most prized possessions is Scat, a little grey Beanie Baby cat (qv. many previous photographs).  But he's family, not a speculative so-called "investment medium."
- posted by cjb @ 5:26 PM


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