Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Do you believe in God?

I often wanted to find a good answer to the question "Do you believe in God?". Then I realized the best answer was in the questions itself. I think instead of asking "Do you believe in God?", we need to ask "Should we believe in God?". What I mean by this is, disregard of whether God exists or not, do we need to believe in him in order to function.

To "Theist", I ask, do you have to believe in him even if he exists? And to "Atheist", I ask, do you have to not believe in him even if he doesn't exist?

In the history of mankind there has been more deaths in the name of religion than anything else. So, the question again is should we have to have belief or non-belief is something that could be the very reason of our extinction?

So, next time you tell your kids whether to believe or not to believe in God, just think if the best thing to do is to say NOTHING.

Friday, January 3, 2014

Will bitcoin unite the global finance and ultimately, the people?

One of the great powers i have seen in bitcoin is that it has the potential to bring all country-based financial systems under one roof. Today, we don't care much if a bitcoin based companies is in US, China or Germany as long as they are safe. And even these companies (for example coinbase) prefer to be considered as 'global' based and are already planning on international expansion, because that is the core purpose of bitcoin. so, i think bitcoin is and will push toward global unification, and not just financially.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Does technology really take away jobs?

Technology doesn't eliminate jobs, it creates more, many more, just not the kind of jobs we are used to. It removes non-creative jobs with creative ones.

When computer came along, one computer might have replaced many old-fashioned jobs but look how many jobs computer industry has now created. The whole IT industry is a bi-product of that one computer that people then were mad at for replacing, may be 100 jobs. I don't think I will have to point out how many jobs the "internet" (technology) has created. Yes, iPhone might have replaced so many products (calculator, watch, compass, even flashlight) and jobs related to that, but see how many jobs the app industry has now created.

Finally, yes many jobs will go away but those will be the only non-creative jobs that can be easily be performed by a computer code/logic, but in return will create many more creative jobs that is not yet technologically possible to automate.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Tips on how to represent bitcoin in media!

even though bitcoin community is doing awesome jobs in promoting bitcoin in media, I just wanted to point out couple of things to better position bicoin with new users.
  • first of all, please remember nothing you say or do on the interview will change the view of the skeptic interviewer. so don't bother and rather focus on the audiance that will be watching the show.
  • when asked about bitcoin, i think it is better to answer in most layman terms as if your target audiance is a 10 yr old kid, cause they are the ones who will be carrying this legacy forward and not the TV host asking the question.
  • before answering any question ask them if they are 'for' or 'against' bitcoin and when they say they are 'against', ask them if they know enough about bitcoin to come to that conclusion. this way they will, from the beginning, dig their own hole and never recover.
  • during interviews, i would advise not to use technical terms like hashing, mining, blockchains and all that. these will do nothing but alienate potential bitcoin users. users don't need to know all this, same like not many know (including myself) how monetary system completely works. all they need to understand is that they can buy things or send money with bitcoin quicky and at low cost than credit cards.
  • to really skeptic and dumb interviewer, always try to answer the question with a question. for example if they ask 'how do you shutdown bitcoin", ask them "how to you shutdown internet". and if they ask "but, people can use bitcoin to buy drugs", then say "but, people use cash to buy drugs, so should we be shutting down cash?"..remember answering these silly questions will not help. plus audiance always enjoys counter questions.
please add more to the list so bitcoin representatives can apply the ones that seem appropriate..go bitcoin!!

Friday, September 6, 2013

Basic questions to ask before investing in early stage startups

These are some basic questions I find important to consider before investing in early stage startups. It addresses 5 key factors:
  1. PROBLEM/SOLUTION
  2. MARKET
  3. COMPETITION
  4. FINANCIAL
  5. TEAM
The reason TEAM is in the middle is because the 4 properties of a TEAM (Integrity, Smartness, Desire, Vision) should compliment all the other 4 factors of the business (PROBLEM/SOLUTION, MARKET, COMPETITION, FINANCIAL).




Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Should rich spend more?

Just recently the news came out that Sean Parker spend 9 million on his wedding. People were going crazy over this saying why he had to spend so much money. That it is rediculous. Is it?

Lets say he only spent 100k, than whay will happen to the rest 8.9 million. It will be in his bank or stock. Now either the bank or himselfy will make more money out of it. None of that is going to the poor. But, if he spends 9 million, then at least that money is being distributed among the people that bring the wedding together. Meaning, at least some of him money is going back to the people which would otherwise just sit on his account.

Everyone gets excited to hear that Warren Buffet still lives on his 35k dollar house. But, think what would happen if he were to build 100 million dollar house, which he obviously can afford to. That 100 million dollar would be able to employ 2000 people for a full year with average salary of 50k/year. About 50k/year being average house hold income in US, that is enough to sustain 2000 families for whole year.

Now, is it good that the rich spend extravagantly or rather keep the money in the bank?

Friday, March 1, 2013

To Americans those who think they are any different from immigrants breaking laws..

Watching the series 'Mad Men' I learned that in the 40s and 50's, American men got married just to prevent from getting recruited to the army and being sent to war. This is not just illegal but also betrayal towards their own country. But, they did it to survive. Immigrants might have come here illegally or worked with no permit. But, they did it for the same reason to survive.

Legally, both have broken the law but why are you only after the immigrants and not after those Americans who married only to avoid going to war. And that could be you or your father or your grandfather. So, until you turn them in, you have no right to go after the rest.



Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Should airline fares change every second?

The fares for trains, buses, taxis don't change every second. So, why do fares for airlines have to change every second? I understand when the demand is higher people are willing to pay more. But in that case why don't the price of goods like clothes, change every second then? And if it is about change in oil price then why don't the price of buses and taxis change?

I think lives of consumers would be lot simpler if they did not have to worry about the change in price and fly with peace of mind that everyone paid the same price for the same service. If you were travelling by train or bus then you would not have to bother booking months in advance. You would just go to the train station, purchase the ticket and travel. See how convenient. Why can't we have similar experience when it comes to airlines?

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Should we bring entire global population to US?


This question was asked by REP. Steve King on http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/310814-2,
time: 00:03:00.

Even though this is a silly question, I would like to answer this with grace. The number of immigrants that should be allowed to come to US should be determined by the demand in the market and not by some magic number proposed by some individual. If there is demand for 6 billion people in US market then trust me US will find a way to accomodate all the people in the world cause that will be in the country's best economic, financial and whatever interest.

Should we deport undocumented immigrants that are member of violent crimes before they commit crimes or should they also have path to citizenship?

This is a question that was asked by REP. Randy Forbes on http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/310814-1 at time: 1:36:00.

They should be treated same as the other american members of the violent gangs. If american gang members are sent to jail before they committed the crime then undocumented immigrants should also be sent to jail and deported, but if the american gang members are not jailed then undocumented immigrants should not be deported until convicted.