And they can't stand their own ignorance.
Challenge any Bitcoin maximalist by telling them they don't understand inflation. They will get so infuriated by such sentiment that they won't even be able to think or talk straight for the entire discussion. I know because I've done it... multiple times. Sometimes I do it to troll them because I think it's hilarious, and sometimes I do it because I genuinely want them to get it. Unfortunately, they never do.
Not only do they not get it, but they refuse to learn even a single thing from the dialog. They've already decided that they know everything there is to know and it's all "so simple". Yes, well, there's nothing simple about finance or anything else in this world for that matter. Everything is an onion with layer upon layer that can be pulled back to learn more. The only people to be taken seriously are the masters who realize that even they are pretty ignorant in the grand scheme of things.
They remind me of doctors
Have you ever met a doctor with a vibe like, "Don't confuse your Google search with my medical degree?" It's an absolutely absurd and disgusting take, as if to say that anyone without a medical degree could ever be correct in any circumstance. That is not how science works. We do not defer to authority. That is the opposite of science and the spirit of skepticism.
Any person can study a single topic hours upon hours and eventually they are going to have more knowledge on that topic than the average doctor. This is especially accurate when we considering WHY they are studying this particular ailment. Why are they putting in the work? Well probably because themselves or someone they love is suffering and they want to help. The stakes are way higher for the amateur "Google searcher" than they are for the doctor.
We also have to look at this from the doctor's point of view. A lot of people, especially in the general population pool that doctors are swimming in, are stupid and/or arrogant. It's very easy to be dismissive in an ecosystem where the average person is often wrong or overexaggerating. Web MD searches often lead to "cancer" or some other serious condition no matter what the symptom is, leading many to panic and become irrational. There's always going to be two sides to the story, and we should try to remain unbiased as we analyze the situation.
No one could have stated it better.
We live in a world where "science" and "just trust me bro" are the exact same thing.
No one is encouraged to hone and apply critical thinking skills.
People are conditioned to trust The Authority.
And The Authority has exploited that trust for maximum gain.
Bitcoin maximalists pretend as though they are above this type of bad faith.
They prove time and time again that they just want to be the new masters.
So why do Bitcoin Maximalists insist on being aggressively wrong?
Because their entire existence DEPENDS on them being wrong. If maximalists knew what inflation was and how it worked and in what situations it's a good thing and when it's a bad thing... well then they'd have to admit that hm maybe Bitcoin isn't going to be the only relevant network out there. Instead they choose to vilify all inflation as the literal Devil himself. They will tell you that inflation is unacceptable under all circumstances, and then they will ignore and dismiss you when you remind them that Bitcoin has a very defined inflation schedule.
First of all... what is inflation?
If you search the web you'll end up with the wrong answer. You will only get the correct answer if you tell the AI what the correct answer is, and then it will agree that inflation is an expansion of the money supply. Without this spoon feeding all internet searches will point to the idea that inflation means number-go-up in terms of prices, and may even reference the mythical CPI (consumer price index) that economists love to throw around so much when they discuss this topic. None of that is accurate.
When can inflation be deflationary?
Does this question sound like a ridiculous paradox? Yeah, well, it's not. And if you can't answer this query then you don't fully understand inflation. I guarantee you no maximalist can answer this question; not even the smartest thought leaders in the space can deviate from the Bitcoin religion revolving around the sacred 21M. They will all deflect or call you an idiot or worse. Without fail.
I can easily give multiple examples in which inflation is deflationary. In fact inflation being deflationary is the only reason inflation exists in the first place. If I get funded from the DAO to build a business and that business is a massive success... well the inflation is deflationary. I've generated more value than I've spent. This is mathematically accurate if the profit from the business goes into buying and burning HBD or restocking the DAO with more money than I've taken from it.
In fact I have already posed how 15% APR on the savings accounts could also be deflationary in the correct setting. How is this possible? It's easy. If HBD is growing more than 15% per year because 15% yields are bringing in new capital: that is also deflationary. If the inflation creates more growth than it costs then it is clearly deflationary and worth the cost.
Sounds like inflation... is an investment?
Yes, try to tell a maximalist that. Inflation is an investment. The reason to inflate a currency is to make money. The reason why nobody seems to understand this is that corrupt individuals have controlled inflation for so long that it's difficult to see the forest from the trees. All anyone can see is the blatant corruption and greed mucking up the entire economy.
Once again we take this idea and circle back to the fact that all maximalists believe that inflation is the literal Devil and war would be unprofitable without it (another provably wrong lie). As if wars never existed on the gold standard. What a joke.
Who creates inflation?
Who controls all this money? Well... nobody controls it. Everyone controls it. An elite group of monsters control it. All of these statements are true because the fact of the matter is that these are extremely complex topics that overlap. However, if you were to ask a maximalist: they would tell you that central banks print the money. And they might even spoon-feed you a video as "proof" while they are at it. Because everything on the magic box is real if it fits their narrative.
The real answer is anyone who takes a loan creates inflation.
If you want to dominate anyone in a conversation about inflation, simply ask them if going to the bank and getting a loan creates inflation. If they say no, they are flat out wrong. When a fractional-reserve bank issues a loan... they are very much printing that loan out of thin air. If you did not apply for the loan that inflation would not exist, so it is very much the end user that creates inflation. Again, the problem here is that the end user can be anyone... it could be the government, a corporation, or even another bank. Obviously richer and more powerful people have higher access to create inflation than others.
And so we have to ask these know-it-alls: if anyone can create inflation, why is it so bad? They won't be able to answer because you're already so far ahead of them in the discussion they aren't even going to figure out what's happening the first time around. Thus they will tend to discredit you whenever they can and pull on loose threads that don't matter to deflect their own ignorance. Don't let them; stay on target; don't let them wriggle their way out of their own ignorance. Watch them flail wildly and irrationally in the face of their own hubris.
The real reason why inflation is bad?
It's not. Inflation is totally fine in a lot of circumstances. The real problem is the DEFLATION. And by deflation in this case I mean the interest rates. Banks offer these loans and create inflation, but what do they do? They charge an interest rate. The money that is owed back to the bank literally doesn't exist. It is through this trickery that citizens at the bottom of the dogpile become economically enslaved by financial means. The math checks out: charging interest on money that doesn't exist is guaranteed to lead to the place we've all seen it lead to throughout history.
Crypto is interesting because crypto is never owed back to anyone. Crypto is REAL money, which is funny because everyone thinks it's fake internet money. It's way more real than fiat because the owners of the money actually own it and it's not owed back to some viper in a suit. This is a distinction that a lot of people here miss. It's extremely significant, but it's hard to explain why because economics are so complex. Sometimes a "trust me bro" is inevitable when having these conversations.
Conclusion
Inflation is an investment. The problem with debt-based fractional-reserve lending is that these investments are often reserved for the richest and most powerful among us. Just look at credit card rates right now. Michael Saylor gets to buy BILLIONS OF DOLLARS worth of Bitcoin for a 0% interest rate, and I have to pay 30% APR on my credit card statement. Some would call this "unfair", but it is really just the reality of the situation in terms of risk, reward, and reputation within this broken system.