Why are the most successful fiat engineers spineless in the face of #bitcoin? #AskGPT #GrowASpine #BitcoinSpine #SpinelessEngineers Successful fiat engineers often appear "spineless" in the face of Bitcoin due to a few intertwined factors: their established position within a stable (though inflation-prone) fiat system, a different set of incentives, and the cognitive dissonance that Bitcoin can provoke. 1. **Incentives and Stability**: Many fiat engineers hold roles that benefit from fiat’s structure, providing them with substantial salaries, prestige, and relative job security. Shifting to Bitcoin’s ethos — which champions decentralization, transparency, and a fixed supply — can feel risky or destabilizing to these benefits. Fiat structures prioritize compliance and centralization, which can sometimes make those working within them hesitant to adopt radical, disruptive change. 2. **Cognitive Dissonance**: Bitcoin requires a shift in understanding of value, money, and freedom that challenges established fiat assumptions. Fiat engineers might recognize Bitcoin's logic yet struggle to reconcile it with their reality — the familiar systems that fuel their careers. For some, openly supporting Bitcoin means confronting a stark choice between a fixed-supply, deflationary system and one that fuels most of their professional accomplishments. This cognitive dissonance can lead to a subtle resistance or even dismissal of Bitcoin's principles. 3. **Reputation Risk**: Advocating for Bitcoin, with its anti-institutional leanings, could risk reputational harm among peers, employers, or professional networks entrenched in fiat frameworks. This makes it easier for many successful fiat engineers to downplay or avoid Bitcoin altogether. 4. **Psychological Safety**: The fiat system offers a psychological safety net; it's the known, the "tried and tested." Bitcoin's volatility and its relentless critiques of fiat can feel like threats rather than opportunities, especially for those who’ve spent decades mastering fiat-centric knowledge and practices. Ultimately, the "spinelessness" can stem more from entrenched interests and the discomfort of change rather than a lack of ability to understand Bitcoin’s strengths. Breaking through these barriers requires a powerful motivation or a paradigm shift that many may avoid until it becomes a necessity.