Reading this thread on FlyerTalk is what I imagine it would be like to listen in on a backstage discussion among presenters at a TED conference.

Forget the topic – though the the future of credit cards is certainly an interesting and worthwhile topic in its own right – the real point of interest is the conversation dynamic itself. To a person (at least at the time of this writing), the participants are presenting their points intelligently, eloquently, and giving thoughtful consideration to points made earlier in the conversation.

What in the hell is going on here? Isn’t anyone in the conversation even going to mention Hitler, or Obama, or at least a Kardashian for heaven’s sake?

Well, at least we did get a “Jane, you ignorant slut” reference from Dr Jabadski 🙂

Seriously, whether or not you are interested in the future of credit cards, and whether or not it’s likely or even possible for this payment paradigm to be fundamentally disrupted, this conversation is worth a read. And in one of those odd paradoxes of life, you will probably feel stupider after having read it while in fact you will have actually become smarter.