Nassim Taleb, the prominent author of "The Black Swan," has taken aim at former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden on Twitter. In a scathing attack, Taleb called Snowden a "despicable" individual of very "low intellect" and accused him of body-shaming Bank for International Settlements (BIS) head Agustin Carstens.
Snowden had criticized Carstens in a tweet for his recent comments on cryptocurrencies, in which the BIS head declared victory over crypto and stressed the need for regulation of the crypto space.
To take a dig at the BIS head, Snowden, who is mostly known for his treasonous acts against the U.S., made a derogatory comment about Carstens' physical appearance, prompting Taleb to come to the defense of the latter.
Taleb, an outspoken critic of cryptocurrencies and their lack of regulation, argued that Snowden is being paid in crypto, which is the reason behind his advocacy.He also claimed that Snowden had no valid arguments to make in support of cryptocurrencies and resorted to body-shaming Carstens instead.
In sharp contrast to Snowden, Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, took a more measured approach in his criticism of Carstens' comments, stating that the BIS head had ignored the facts about Bitcoin and Ethereum. As reported by U.Today, Novogratz argued that fiat currencies had not necessarily "won the battle" against cryptocurrencies, pointing to the significant appreciation of BTC and ETH over the past decade and the trust placed in them by millions of people worldwide.
Meanwhile, Snowden's attack on Carstens was immature and uncalled for, according to Taleb. His body-shaming comment was indicative of a lack of intellectual depth and a resort to ad hominem attacks rather than reasoned argumentation.
Taleb's scathing comment highlights the importance of engaging in reasoned debate and avoiding personal attacks, even when discussing contentious topics like cryptocurrencies.
Tomiwabold Olajide
