Week 5 [21-27.05.2018] Is cryptocurrency real money?

”Money is not coin and banknotes. Money is anything that people are willing to use in order to represent systematically the value of other things for the purpose of exchanging goods and services.” Sapiens (2011) by Yuval Noah Harari

Source: https://hackernoon.com/the-cryptocurrency-trading-bible-43d0c57e3fe6

Cryptocurrencies had a wild run in 2017. The most popular digital currency (Bitcoin) has risen more
than 16x and altcoins as much as 100x in value. Blockchain technology became a hot topic in mainstream media and attracted both common people and big investors (Soros, Rothschilds and Rockefeller families). However, I don’t want to write about bitcoin as an investment but rather focus on whether it can fit into current financial system.

One of the main concern is the digital aspect of cryptocurrencies. However many people are not aware that banknotes and coins are actually a rare form of money. It is calculated that the total sum of money is about $60 trillion while total sum of material cash is less than $6 trillion. It means that more than 90% of global funds exists solely in digital form as entries in databases.

The second leading concern is that cryptocurrencies do not have any value on their own.
While this may be true, the entirety of the current finance industry is based on the assumptions of price,
of supply and demand, and not of intrinsic value. So where does currency get its value from? Many people believe it is from gold supplies but it is not entirely true. Chris Mayer has written a great article where he explains that money value actually comes from tax credit. A piece of paper only has value because governments accepts it as payment. Just take a look at polish zloty. Despite not being backed by gold, it still has a value because Polish government’s existence supports it. And essentially every other modern currency is government-backed. Without this regulation there’s nothing stopping the citizens from using something that could serve as a better store of value (e.g. necessities or commodities).

Source: http://www.usagold.com/publications/feb2013newsletter.html

So can we consider cryptocurrencies to be money? Theoretically, yes. We could use Bitcoin or Ethereum in the same way we use traditional money. After all, on a very basic level, money is a social construct. Nonetheless, social acceptance is not enough. In order for something to actually be money, political approval is vital. Money in the sense of currency is tied to governments. This means that money as currency functions only if both individual people and countries agree that money is money.

Cryptocurrencies are considered by many as digital gold. Whether they will succeed or not is still uncertain. They exist in a wild and unregulated environment and only time can tell if the society will adopt them.

If you are interested in how cryptocurrency work here is a video with a good explanation.

Sources:
1. https://cointelegraph.com/news/is-cryptocurrency-real-money-brief-discussion-on-major-issues-surrounding-debate
2. https://hackernoon.com/is-bitcoin-money-ea6495809515
3. https://blockgeeks.com/guides/what-is-bitcoin/
4. https://erenow.com/common/sapiensbriefhistory/47.html

Questions:
1. Are you familiar with any cryptocurrency project other than bitcoin?
2. Do you think that cryptocurrencies can become real money?
3. Should governments support cryptocurrencies?

Week 5 [21-27.05.2018] How much time?

Humans have been on Earth for nearly 2,000,000 years. With time, they learned to cultivate the ground and use natural resources that nature generously gave them. First civilizations have developed in the Middle East, in the river basins, which ensured their existence. For thousands of years, with their growth, development, increasing technological progress and expansion increased their needs, ways of using and acquiring these goods, people became more and more greedy for perfect symbiosis. That is why they transformed the relationship with nature into almost parasitic. This type of dependence always leads to the death of a parasite or a feeder. So the question is not "if", but "when" it will happen.

                                                                  https://staging.futurism.com/humans-and-the-destruction-of-the-biosphere-2/

Nowadays, the level of technological development and global unrestrained, progressing in alarming rate consumption and exploitation of natural goods and resources leads natural environment to an almost unimaginable degree of degradation, which has become an inclined plane for the whole human race. Increasing overcrowding decreased a chance to satisfy the needs and caused a widespread famine problem. Governments are under control of global corporations and initiate further conflicts, which ultimate goal is only to achieve influences and economic goals. For huge pharmaceutical concerns it is more profitable to heal us than cure, because patients are also consumers. The more medicines we buy, the more they earn. Increasing disproportions between a handful of corrupt elite and the rest of society have pushed many countries of the world such as Venezuela to the brink of recession. People noticing these disproportions and suffering from military conflicts are looking for a better life in foreign countries and cultures instead of developing and cultivating their own.

In 2017, 1,500 scientists from around the world wrote an open letter to governments and all humanity entitled "Time is running out". It was published in the journal "BioScience" to warn people against the negative consequences of actions of people that can be disastrous for themselves. As they note, over the 25 years that have passed since the previous appeal, the situation has significantly deteriorated. They pointed several main areas, such as:

- 26% decrease in amount of drinking water per resident of the earth

- increase of carbon dioxide emission and increase of average temperatures,

- increase in the human population by 35%,

- drop by 29% in the number of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish,

- loss of nearly 300 million acres of forests that have been transformed into fields,

- number of dead zones in the oceans increase of 75%

Scientists are appealing to all people and leaders to take action to reverse these negative trends. Among the postulated solutions there were: the creation of a larger number of reserves, the creation of the legislation facilitating the protection of nature, conducting educational programs or increasing the use of renewable energy sources.

The full text of the letter at http://scientists.forestry.oregonstate.edu/" \t "_top

Will we be able to get back on track? Or maybe it is too late? I think that each of us will find it difficult to answer these questions, but we can try to live in a way that the next generations wouldn’t have to ask these questions. We should make decisions taking into account not only our own needs, choose representatives who will take care of restoring the disturbed balance between man and nature, because what goes around comes around.

questions:

1.What is the global problem that you think is the biggest challenge for humanity and why?

2. What will you do to help solve it?

3.How do you think the fate of civilization will go and what consequences the human race will suffer?

Source:

https://io9.gizmodo.com/5967660/9-ways-humanity-could-bring-about-our-own-destruction

Week 5 [21-27.05.2018] Smoko

I love music. That’s why I have a lot of conversations about it with my friends. Many of them even have a band or just know how to play some instruments. So, I want to tell you about “Smoko”. Now you can ask yourself “is that related to music???”. It’s just …title of one song which I’ve heard first time few weeks ago during one of our disputes about latest music discoveries.

I really like this song. I fully agree with the lyrics and it’s also a very energizing track. Sometimes punk rock is better than a morning coffee. But the first thought after listening was like: “I’ve never heard this word!”. Just …second later my friend told me that this band (The Chats) is form Australia. Australians have their own way to use English language, aren’t they?

My next step was just asking “uncle Google” about the genesis of this word. I was really amazed by the results. I was sure that this word will be found in any “slang dictionary” and nowhere else.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoko

 Wikipedia told me something very different. It’s ..term which describes …short, often informal, brake during work or military duty. Even sheep shearers had their smoko, which takes it’s time between breakfast and lunch. Is it just a word? Ok, fine. But we can get that knowledge thanks to the context of song and using some computational power of our brain.

In Australia, more precisely in the north east, about 200 miles away from Melbourne, we can find a small town called Smoko. Why it’s called just like a cigarette break during work? Just because of that! In 1850s gold seekers were taking a rest with a cigarette before ..long trip across a difficult desert trip.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoko,_Victoria

Moreover, this term is also can be found in the cards of law in cases of short brakes in plants. That makes me curious about the topic of Australian odd words which also in general use there.

Do you know any Australian words with that interesting genesis? Or maybe other examples across the languages?

Maybe you also heard a song which makes you curious about words used in its lyrics?

Or you just think that I’m crazy because I wrote the entire article about a single word? 😉

Week 4 [07-13.05.2018] Is Africa really poor?

Recently, a number of experts have been turning their focus on Africa. This interest might be explained by the fact that the continent has been becoming more and more promising for investments. Stereotypes that we usually use when thinking about Africa often stop us from seeing the reality, which is that the continent has changed dramatically in the recent years. Often the first image that comes to mind when we hear about Africa is this:

And yes, famine in Africa is still an enormous issue, but what is just as worth noting is that this picture was also taken in Africa:

This is Johanessburg, a capital of RSA. The picture depicts a business district there. Very similar to the ones in USA isn’t it?

Click the link below, to listen to Marek Zmysłwoski’s lecture about business opportunities in Africa:

The growth of population is very high in Africa so they need products and infrastructure. The concurrency is very low there, which is why this market is so open to new entrepreneurs, especially those in tech industry.

Below find a link to a ranking of fastest growing companies, all based in Africa: http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/press/12-fast-growing-african-companies-selected-deal-room-africa-2017-egypt/

In the subject of technology, it is worth noting African people love technology. Data shows that 81% of Nigerian citizens utilize internet on their smartphones. That is quite amazing and it is far better than Poland with our 57%. Also did you know that Ghana shot out their first satellite? It’s actually the first in whole Africa! It was built in Ghanian Univeristy of All Nations. That doesn’t suit to Africa isn’t it?  See more: https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/06/africa-enters-the-space-race/

This interest in technology can be also because of a growing middle class. In 8 years the share of middle class is predicted to be twice as much as it is now. Also many people migrate from villages to the cities. That’s because there, they have access to water, they have power supply, everything is much closer than outside town.

There are still issues in Africa with power supply, so they use aggregates to produce electricity. It is quite expensive because the cost of such power supply is between 2000-3000$ per month. Also there are issues with water. Recently it was reported that RSA government had limited amount of water per citizen and also that in few years there can be no water available to drink there. Nonetheless, the actual growth and need for supplies in Africa makes for various possibilities to business development on that continent.

Now Africa scores 6% industry growth which is a little behind China with a growth of 8%. So guys, pack your bags and start a business in Africa!

Questions:

1. Did you know about such wide possibilities for business development in Africa?
2. Have you heard about any of African fastest growing companies?
3. Would you start your own company in Africa?

Sources:

• http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/press/12-fast-growing-african-companies-selected-deal-room-africa-2017-egypt/
• https://www.youtube.com/embed/VPB5w5FECf8?feature=player_embedded
• https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/06/africa-enters-the-space-race/

Week 4 [07-13.05.2018] Fast fashion issue

Fast fashion is term that you may heard already. It is used to describe the term that big fashion retailers(like Zara, Topshop, H&M) use to produce new clothing lines every week, so that the last one is already outdated. That forces the customers to buy even more items. Trends are changing more quickly than ever in history. We don’t only have 4 main seasons that divide clothes but also some mid-season completely new trends or new items almost every day.

Clothes from fast fashion retailers are produced with visibly lower quality to maintain lower price of production. This leads to terrible production environment. We know that child labour in China, Indonesia or India exists but we choose to look away. Those big companies only want our money, they don’t care about quality that they provide.

Fast fashion is becoming a bigger and bigger problem. It contributes to more pollution to the planet. It is estimated that we keep our clothes for about 3 years, then we get rid of them without thinking about consequences to the planet.

Please have a look at this picture that illustrates the waste of clothing only in UK: 

Source: 
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/environment-costs-fast-fashion-pollution-waste-sustainability-a8139386.html

Only about 3% of clothes are recycled, despite what big companies declare. One household produces around 70 kg of waste each year of just clothes. That’s terrifying when you compare it to other resources from the table.

To prevent that problem,  we as customers have to be more picky. We can’t buy clothes just for the price tag or a new trend. When was the last time you thought about how your clothes wew made? Do you really need that new dress that you would only wear a few times and then dispose it? Many people suggest to buy clothes from eco-friendly places and sustainable brands. That is a perfect idea, except  for one thing- price. It puts many people off. We don’t want to spend more money on something basic like a white t-shirt, when we can have it for a fraction of the price in a different shop. We need to think more about where the clothes come from and when they go after we stop using them not  to leave this world as a giant garbage disposal of  our choices.

If you want to learn more about that I encourage you to watch these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHw4HEzzsyc

The true cost (on Netflix)

Sources:

https://www.forgerecycling.co.uk/blog/fast-fashion/

http://www.uselesswardrobe.dk/why-do-i-have-fast-fashion-brands-in-my-wardrobe/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r8V4QWwxf0

Questions:

1. How often do you shop for clothes? Are they always from bigger brands?
2. Do you know any eco-friendly clothing brands?
3. Did you ever buy something just for the price?

Week 4 [07-13.05.2018] Read the effing books!

Since i can remember i loved reading books. It didn’t matter whether they were crime novels, science-fiction, fantasy or a manual published by Microsoft. I just devoured them. Nowadays, as my taste in books matured i prefer a good thriller or crime sitting in front of a fireplace with a glass of red wine (unfortunately, i often have to give up on that fireplace thing because i live in a flat). Although i still sometimes use traditional books, most of my reading is done on Amazon Kindle. Not only can i have hundreds of them stored in the memory, it weighs less and occupies less space than paperback editions. Also i can order what i want via Internet and start reading in seconds, it doesn’t matter if i’m at home or I’m commuting to work, i can download them anywhere.

What really saddens me is that in today’s world not everyone sees books as something worth spending time on. In a recently published study done by the National Library(1), during the previous year, only 38% of our country’s population read any book at all! That’s only 14 million of people in Poland who read any book at all!

            If we go further, we will find that only mere 9% of our population read at least 7 books!

When trying to pin down the cause of such a horrendous statistics naturally

a couple of points spring to mind:

1) It requires time : It is so much easier to see a 2 hour movie and get

the same essence of the story than to read an entire book which can take

days (or if a book is long and time is sparse - weeks).

2) It requires brains : It is far less intellectually challenging to see something

in a movie than to understand and imagine what an author meant through words.

3) Ease of access : Books are just not that accessible. To see a movie

or a TV show you just need to turn on your TV or your laptop,  whereas

a new book you usually need to buy  from (either a store or Amazon or wherever).

Yes,  you can download it on your Kindle, but electronic forms of reading are

still not that popular.

4) The social aspect : Reading books  is essentially a solitary activity

(yes I know there are book clubs, but most people read books alone).

Going to the movies, watching a TV show with your family are social activities.

1. Do you read books and if yes, how many (on average) per year, can you consider yourself a “reading elite”?
2. Do you think our society is on a crash course to becoming non-reading and therefore slowly becoming illiterate with language becoming less developed with each generation?
3. What do you think would be a good way to encourage people to reach for a book and give it a try?
4. What in your opinion are the main causes of such low reading population number?

1. http://www.bn.org.pl/w-bibliotece/3413-38%25-polakow-czyta-ksiazki.html

Week 4 [07-13.05.2018] Commercialization of space

Recent, very flashy SpaceX rocket launches were undoubtedly a marketing success. It would seem that this is the beginning of space commercialization, but there are already a lot of companies in this business. I will describe a few of the most interesting.

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic is working on a manned suborbital vehicle called SpaceShip Two. Recently, they have boasted about the success of the first rocket propelled flight. However, it's hard to say when Virgin will make their first commercial flight into space. SpaceShipTwo shipwreck delayed its work in October 2014. Tickets for the first flights can already be booked. There have been queuing over 500 people waiting for the first flights. The price is 'only' 200,000 USD + 20,000 USD advance.

https://img.purch.com/w/660/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5zcGFjZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzA2NC80NTUvb3JpZ2luYWwvdnNzLXVuaXR5LWdsaWRlLWZsaWdodC5qcGVn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s-zY86Ec-I

Digital Globe

It is one of the first commercial companies in space. They take pictures of the Earth in very high resolution. You know them thanks to eg. Google maps, Apple maps. They have five satellites in orbit, the newest one was placed there in 2016. It has a huge ‘resolution power’, a single pixel corresponds to the area of 30x30cm on the ground. You must see itsgorgeous photo gallery on their website!  I recommend downloading them in full resolution.

https://www.digitalglobe.com/gallery#

https://www.digitalglobe.com/gallery/6/download

SpaceX 

Probably the most-recently known cosmic company with a charismatic owner, who in this seminar probably doesn’t need to be presented 😉. SpaceX designs, builds and launches advanced rockets and spacecrafts. Its main purpose is of course to settle down a man on another planet. By the way,  they managed to significantly reduce the costs of subsequent starts by re-using rockets. Recently, they have tested the most powerful rocket ever made - Falcon Heavy. On television, it may look just like the previous rockets stitched together, but one number really makes an impression. Falcon Heavy can bring about 63 tonnes into orbit. So, for example, a Boeing 737 with passengers, luggage and fuel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wUgEAmXLfo

The less known ship is the Dragon. Unlike the Falcons, it is a manned vessel designed to carry cargo and people into orbit. Dragon went down in history when it docked in 2012 to the ISS as the first private ship which safely returned to Earth.

Do you know other interesting companies in this cosmic business?

Are you interested in a commercial flight into space?

What industry can take advantage of space exploration?

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiRBQxHrxNw

http://www.spacex.com/

https://www.digitalglobe.com/

http://www.virgingalactic.com/