Most of gold's value is indeed a "myth". Silver is the best metallic conductor, it's equally finite and not man made, yet it trades at around 1/50th of gold va

Most of gold's value is indeed a "myth". Silver is the best metallic conductor, it's equally finite and not man made, yet it trades at around 1/50th of gold value, despite having considerable decorative value itself. That 50x difference is not all because gold inhibits bacterial growth (so do some plastics) or does not corrode as easily. The author's main point, though, is that perception is reality. If I accidentally offend you, your offense does not become any less real just because I didn't mean to offend you, or that you should not have been offended.