Xerographica wrote:Forsher wrote:I learn that you've never seen a programme called Cracker, starring Robbie Coltrane.
I've never heard of this show. Even if you recommend it I'm probably not going to try and watch it.
Think about how the bees work. Samantha discovers a patch of blooming Aloes and flies back to tell the rest of the hive about her discovery. Once the other bees learn about the patch's
existence... do they all immediately just fly out to the patch? Of course not, they first have to know
whether it's worth it to inspect the patch for themselves. Samantha provides this information by sacrificing her calories dancing long and hard. Her sacrifice
proves that the patch was useful to her. Perhaps a few bees will decide it's worth it to inspect the patch for themselves. When they return to the hive they also sacrifice their calories to help quantify and prove the usefulness of the patch.
Imagine that it took zero time, effort and risk for the other bees to inspect Samantha's patch for themselves. In this case, would it be necessary for Samantha to sacrifice her calories to quantify/prove how useful the patch is to her? Of course not. Even if the patch was entirely useless, the other bees wouldn't waste anything inspecting it. This is because these bees didn't have to take any time, or make any effort, or incur any risk, to inspect the patch.
Your bees analogy is as useless as always.
Did you ever consider that, just maybe, hive-mind creatures who are literally genetically encoded to commit suicide in order to provide a slight nuisance to potential threats to their colony, who have no language or currency system, might not be able to offer much insight in to economies?
If you think the bees are engaging in some kind of market activity, can you please identify:
What is the product being produced?
What is the marginal cost of production?
Who is the producer?
Who is the consumer?
THE IDEA THAT EXPENDING MORE CALORIES WHEN COMMUNICATING NECESSARILY MEANS THAT YOUR IDEA IS BETTER OR YOU BELIEVE IN IT MORE IS PRETTY SILLY. THAT WOULD MEAN THAT SHOUTING ALL THE TIME MEANS MY OPINION IS WORTH MORE. OR THE MORE VERBOSE MY ARGUMENTS THE BETTER THEY ARE. DEAR GOD I THINK THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN A LOT IF YOU BELIEVE THAT...
(I expended unnecessary calories holding my finger on shift the entire time. I could have pressed caps lock, but then I wouldn't have sacrificed so much. Does my (keyboard) shouting at you make me more convincing?)
For your reference, here's the equivalent exchange in human terms:
[Xero enters a restaurant and takes his seat].
Wendy: "Hi, I'm your waitress Wendy, how can I help you tonight?"
Xero: "Hmm. I've never been here before, can you tell me what's good?"
Wendy: "Sure thing. In my opinion, the best things on the menu are the veal tortellini or the beef cheeks"
Xero: "I don't believe you"
Wendy: "I beg your pardon?"
Xero: "You're not sacrificing anything to give me your opinion. How do I know you're being serious?"
Wendy: "I'm not really sure what you mean sir, I think those are our best dishes. If you don't like them perhaps the baked salmon might be more to your taste?"
Xero: "It's too risky for me to take your advice without some kind of show of sacrifice. Give me $10 then I'll take you seriously"
Wendy: "Ummm sir? This is a restaurant, you're the one who is supposed to be paying us, at least when you've ordered your food."
Xero: "You don't even have to give it to me, you can burn it if you'd like"
Wendy: "I'm not going to burn ten dollars to give you some advice. You can take my advice on the menu or not at all."
Xero: "Its really simple. Imagine you're ten bee stranded on a deserted island and the only things you can buy are the name of your sister's baby and 'The wealth of Nations'.... "
[Wendy leaves the table. Xero continues talking to himself]
This is really what you're expecting people to do. Pay (someone? you? the website? god?) for the privilege of performing some service for you.
Now imagine that there was a website for crowdfunded advertising. You go on it and spend a few bucks to help promote Cracker. This increases its ranking. Other people also spend their money to help promote this show. The higher the show's ranking, the less likely that it will be a waste for me to take the time, and make the effort, to watch it.
Always with you it is a 'website'. Someone needs to make a website, and only then will humanity shake off our terrible backwards economic systems and realize our true economic potential.
Its easy to make a website. The kind you're talking about can be made in a week or two, for a few thousand dollars. Pittance in the scheme of things. According to you, if you truly believed in your idea, you should be falling all over yourself to 'sacrifice' this money to the web designer gods and get your idea out in the world.
I think the reality is that there are very, very few categories of products being sold on the internet that weren't being sold in some form before the internet was invented.
Gypsy cabs and taxis existed before Uber. Movie rentals existed before Netflix (hell, Netflix started as a DVD delivery service). Renting out houses and apartments existed before AirBnb. Classified papers existed before AirTasker.
There is nothing special about making a website that suddenly makes an idea that has not been implemented for the last 10000 years viable.