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[cowofdoom78963]

Why not... stones or something?

EDIT: oh wait, I get it now. The value of gold acctually comes from the fact that it's useless for the most part. nevermind then.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Stones are everywhere. All the gold ever mined on Earth would be about the size of the Statue of Liberty's base. Not much on a global scale, and perfect for feudalistic economies. Also shiny.

The diamond market is the perfect example of why monopolies should not exist. DeBeers controls all the diamonds on a global level, save a small supply of blood diamonds. You don't want to deal with the kind of people who have blood diamonds.

[kuro_suna]

The diamond market is the perfect example of why monopolies should not exist. DeBeers controls all the diamonds on a global level, save a small supply of blood diamonds. You don't want to deal with the kind of people who have blood diamonds.

The diamond market is tightly controlled because it has to be. Synthetic diamonds of quality equal or greater than natural ones have been available for about twenty years now. Lifegem will even make you one from dead people.

[Jreengus]

The diamond market is the perfect example of why monopolies should not exist. DeBeers controls all the diamonds on a global level, save a small supply of blood diamonds. You don't want to deal with the kind of people who have blood diamonds.

The diamond market is tightly controlled because it has to be. Synthetic diamonds of quality equal or greater than natural ones have been available for about twenty years now. Lifegem will even make you one form dead people.

So why does that require a monopoly which artificially restricts supply in order to keep themselves in business?

And what about for the years before diamonds could be made synthetically?

[Cthulhu]

If the thing your business revolves around is made obsolete, you make something new or you go out of business.  Companies that manipulate things like that (Or on a slightly less menacing scale, the game industry's new tactic of fighting used game sales by creating lots of gimmicks and perks for buying first-hand) are like bug exploiters in vidjyagaems.  They're basically cheating.

[Leafsnail]

Gold's real "value" doesn't lie in being useless, but in being unchanging.  Gold will never rust or corrode... a lump of gold in your safe will pretty much always be a lump of gold.

[Criptfeind]

Gold's real "value" doesn't lie in being useless, but in being unchanging.  Gold will never rust or corrode... a lump of gold in your safe will pretty much always be a lump of gold.

I was going to make a joke here but damn 197Au is stable.

[ChairmanPoo]

Gold's real "value" doesn't lie in being useless, but in being unchanging.  Gold will never rust or corrode... a lump of gold in your safe will pretty much always be a lump of gold.

I think you are wrong. (In particular, I don't think that gold is adscribed value due to it's stability).

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Gold's real "value" doesn't lie in being useless, but in being unchanging.  Gold will never rust or corrode... a lump of gold in your safe will pretty much always be a lump of gold.

I was going to make a joke here but damn 197Au is stable.

This just brought me a disturbing thought. Earth has failed to destroy gold time and again. Can we destroy gold? I cannot think of a working process for that. Even melted gold just becomes gold again after the heat source is removed. So would gold gas, if you were insane enough to boil gold. So then...

...Oh shit, gold is invincible.

[cowofdoom78963]

You better pray a molten gold monster doesn't attack.

[kuro_suna]

This just brought me a disturbing thought. Earth has failed to destroy gold time and again. Can we destroy gold? I cannot think of a working process for that.

You could bombard gold with neutron radiation to transmute it into another element but this would be equally as difficult as creating gold with the same process.

If you just want to destroy the value of gold that's easy. Gold is actually common, its just that since its dense and doesn't form lighter oxides like most metals almost all of it sunk to the center of the earth. If we ever got advanced enough to mine asteroids gold would probably become less valuable than steel.

[Nikov]

You idiots, just dissolve it in a sulfuric/nitric acid solution then dump it in the ocean. Gawd.

Gold is valuable because you can walk up to anyone with anything worth buying, offer them a few bricks of gold, and get it.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

You idiots, just dissolve it in a sulfuric/nitric acid solution then dump it in the ocean. Gawd.

Gold is valuable because you can walk up to anyone with anything worth buying, offer them a few bricks of gold, and get it.

Really? Good to know for the impending gold rebellion.

But you claim that Gold is considered valuable because we consider Gold valuable? Err...

[Nikov]

Yes, I am really saying gold is valuable because we think gold is valuable.

Circular logic works because CIRCULAR LOGIC WORKS BECAUSE.

[MetalSlimeHunt]

Yes, I am really saying gold is valuable because we think gold is valuable.

Circular logic works because CIRCULAR LOGIC WORKS BECAUSE.

CIRCULAR LOGIC WORKS BECAUSE CIRCULAR LOGIC WORKS BECAUSE CIRCULAR LOGIC WORKS BECAUSE CIRCULAR LOGIC WORKS BECAUSE CIRCULAR LOGIC DOES NOT WORK BECAUSE...

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