3 ms·

>"Why are things worth what they're worth?" is the same order of complexity as "Why do things fall?" Your layman's dismissal of value is something like a mediev

>"Why are things worth what they're worth?" is the same order of complexity as "Why do things fall?" Your layman's dismissal of value is something like a medieval peasant dismissing the question of why an apple falls from a tree as an idiot's question. I don't think anything you just said is relevant to what I said here. All that I said is that there is a notion of value which is not simply "what the market will bear". Value means different things to different people at different times. As you said; it's complex. There are items with inherent value, like gold. It's value is inherent because of how we use it (electronics, jewelry), but that doesn't change the fact that there is real value in gold. That's not the same as someone wanting to make a fashion statement, and I think your electron comparison is so simplistic and absurd as to not be useful in any way. Yes, everything in the universe is comprised of the fundamental building blocks of matter. Great insight here, how about we discuss this in a practical way?

stcredzero 9y ago
There are items with inherent value, like gold. It's value is inherent because of how we use it (electronics, jewelry), but that doesn't change the fact that there is real value in gold. Context. There are contexts where even gold has greatly reduced value. If you're on a sinking ditched airplane in rough seas, are you really going to try and stash that 1kg bar of gold bullion on your person? In that context, it arguably has quite a bit of negative value. I'd account the "getting you dead" property as conferring negative value. In the same context, liter of salt water is worthless. In a different context, it would be worth many times what the gold would be worth.
- user5994461 9y ago
  1kg of gold is 1/10th the size of a coke can and is worth around $40k. If you want to save something in a life threatening situation, that's a fairly reasonable choice.
  - stcredzero 9y ago
    If you want to save something in a life threatening situation, that's a fairly reasonable choice. I wasn't talking about a life threatening situation. I was talking about a "life threatened by not being able to float well enough to breathe" situation combined with a "life threatened by not getting out of a sinking thing fast enough" situation. Also if you think it's a reasonable choice, and the next person thinks it's a crazy choice, that supports my point instead of contradicting it. (And yes, I planned that out!)
    - user5994461 9y ago
      I was merely illustrating that gold has high value and high density. The hypothetical "1kg gold bar" would be the size of a highlighter more or less. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlighter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlighter
      - stcredzero 9y ago
        Bothering to retrieve something so dense and heavy during a chaotic situation where being buoyant enough is a life or death issue -- it's worth a lot of money, but is it worth your life? If you're a very confident, strong swimmer, then maybe that's a rational choice. If you're certain that there's going to be rescue in just a few minutes, then maybe that's a rational choice. If the time and effort it takes to retrieve the thing isn't going to cost you your life by losing you a place dry and out of freezing water, then maybe that's a rational choice. What if all of those above knobs are cranked over to the most unfavorable position? This is precisely my point: The value of something is highly contextual. The context might well be different for each individual at different times.
scarface74 9y ago
There are items with inherent value, like gold. It's value is inherent because Besides electronics, historically the only reasons gold has been valuable was that there was limited quantity and people could trade it for needed goods and services and that people could make jewelry from it. But if tomorrow a large gold deposit was found doubling the amount of supply or people stopped accepting gold in exchange for goods, it wouldn't be as valuable. The price of gold doesnt reflect its utilitarian value.

stcredzero 9y ago

There are items with inherent value, like gold. It's value is inherent because of how we use it (electronics, jewelry), but that doesn't change the fact that there is real value in gold. Context. There are contexts where even gold has greatly reduced value. If you're on a sinking ditched airplane in rough seas, are you really going to try and stash that 1kg bar of gold bullion on your person? In that context, it arguably has quite a bit of negative value. I'd account the "getting you dead" property as conferring negative value. In the same context, liter of salt water is worthless. In a different context, it would be worth many times what the gold would be worth.

user5994461 9y ago
1kg of gold is 1/10th the size of a coke can and is worth around $40k. If you want to save something in a life threatening situation, that's a fairly reasonable choice.
- stcredzero 9y ago
  If you want to save something in a life threatening situation, that's a fairly reasonable choice. I wasn't talking about a life threatening situation. I was talking about a "life threatened by not being able to float well enough to breathe" situation combined with a "life threatened by not getting out of a sinking thing fast enough" situation. Also if you think it's a reasonable choice, and the next person thinks it's a crazy choice, that supports my point instead of contradicting it. (And yes, I planned that out!)
  - user5994461 9y ago
    I was merely illustrating that gold has high value and high density. The hypothetical "1kg gold bar" would be the size of a highlighter more or less. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlighter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlighter
    - stcredzero 9y ago
      Bothering to retrieve something so dense and heavy during a chaotic situation where being buoyant enough is a life or death issue -- it's worth a lot of money, but is it worth your life? If you're a very confident, strong swimmer, then maybe that's a rational choice. If you're certain that there's going to be rescue in just a few minutes, then maybe that's a rational choice. If the time and effort it takes to retrieve the thing isn't going to cost you your life by losing you a place dry and out of freezing water, then maybe that's a rational choice. What if all of those above knobs are cranked over to the most unfavorable position? This is precisely my point: The value of something is highly contextual. The context might well be different for each individual at different times.

scarface74 9y ago

There are items with inherent value, like gold. It's value is inherent because Besides electronics, historically the only reasons gold has been valuable was that there was limited quantity and people could trade it for needed goods and services and that people could make jewelry from it. But if tomorrow a large gold deposit was found doubling the amount of supply or people stopped accepting gold in exchange for goods, it wouldn't be as valuable. The price of gold doesnt reflect its utilitarian value.