Quote from: JorgeStolfi on May 26, 2014, 11:22:41 AM

Quote from: Cassius on May 26, 2014, 10:53:16 AM

And in the interests of making it a fair experiment, do you ever worry that your posts/articles might prevent that limited adoption happening (which would seem very unscientific)? And if not, what is the purpose of making them?

I doubt that this thread has more than 1000 readers. If having one skeptical poster here can prevent the success of bitcoin, then you should all dump your coins and get out of this losing game, as fast as you can.

Independently of its probability of success as defined above, bitcoin may be a fun gambling game, but is a terrible investment, because there is no reliable way to estimate its future value. Unfortunately some sleazy salesmen are touting bitcoin to unwary people as a good investment, even as a hedge against the 1%/yr inflation of the dollar or the 6-7%/yr inflation of Brazil. (Even with the recent spurt, Bitcoin's annualized inflation rate since january has been ~100%/yr.) We see plenty of examples right here. (Sure, if one had a time machine and could invest in September 2013, the return would be fantastic; but, with that tool, playing the roulette at Las Vegas would be even better.) Thus if you want to help someone, tell him/her NOT to invest in bitcoin.

You're not just posting in this thread. You've written articles about bitcoin and you're advising your students not to go near it.
I don't think that's going to have a serious effect on bitcoin's long-term adoption prospects, either. It may even be beneficial.
I'm just not entirely sure you know why you spend so much time here.