[Cryptography] Standards Trolls: Re: Bitcoin is a disaster.

[Jerry Leichter]

> People talk about Fiat currencies as only having value because
> everyone has a collective delusion that they have value....
Getting far from cryptography but ... the use of "delusion" in there is a value judgement that misses the point.  Some things are true *exactly because we agree on them.*  You can understand what I'm writing because we all agree that certain combinations of sounds and certain visual figures have certain meanings.  It's not a delusion that "sun" refers to a certain large yellow object in the sky - it's a fact for English speakers.

Communication without "common delusions" is impossible.  Society without "common delusions" is impossible.  These aren't delusions - they are agreements.  Money as a medium of exchange for goods has value due to common agreement no more, and no less, than English as a medium of exchange of ideas has value due to such a common agreement.
                                                        -- Jerry