4 ms·

I'm pretty sure if it were possible to create atom for atom identical copies of every van gogh the value of the "original" would plummet. Of course in the real

I'm pretty sure if it were possible to create atom for atom identical copies of every van gogh the value of the "original" would plummet. Of course in the real world we have no-cloning theorems, so that isn't possible, information however can be copied at (almost) zero cost and therefore the value of a copy should approach its share of the production cost, which rapidly approaches zero as more copies are made.

eli 11y ago
I disagree. People would still pay more for the one Van Gogh laid his hand upon. After all if you just wanted to look at the painting you can buy a very high quality reproduction today -- you'd need an expert to know it's a fake. Even experts can be fooled by good forgeries.
- JupiterMoon 11y ago
  Just out of interest. With an atom by atom copy how would one work out which is the original?
  - dash2 11y ago
    By tracking the location history of the object. That's actually how much of the art world protects against forgery. Forgers are very good at copying art works, but artists' estates keep a record of what an artist actually produced.
  - jonlucc 11y ago
    Just to add on to dash2's comment, the art collection world relies on provenance. Most large art museums (in the US, at least) rarely buy from private collectors for this reason. Items from private collectors are usually donated, and if an item is purchased, it is either through auction (usually the big houses like Sotheby's) or from well-trusted dealers.
benihana 11y ago
You should test your theory by starting a a company that makes reproductions of famous paintings and see how fast it takes for classic works of art to become valueless.
Lawtonfogle 11y ago
You can copy atom for atom, but you can't copy sentimental value. Of course, the problem is that we could actually lose the ability to assign sentimental value to any one of them. Immagine 10 identical Mona Lisas, only one of them real with the knowledge which since lost. The collection would be worth a lot, but what would be the price of 1 of them?

eli 11y ago

I disagree. People would still pay more for the one Van Gogh laid his hand upon. After all if you just wanted to look at the painting you can buy a very high quality reproduction today -- you'd need an expert to know it's a fake. Even experts can be fooled by good forgeries.

JupiterMoon 11y ago
Just out of interest. With an atom by atom copy how would one work out which is the original?
- dash2 11y ago
  By tracking the location history of the object. That's actually how much of the art world protects against forgery. Forgers are very good at copying art works, but artists' estates keep a record of what an artist actually produced.
- jonlucc 11y ago
  Just to add on to dash2's comment, the art collection world relies on provenance. Most large art museums (in the US, at least) rarely buy from private collectors for this reason. Items from private collectors are usually donated, and if an item is purchased, it is either through auction (usually the big houses like Sotheby's) or from well-trusted dealers.

benihana 11y ago

You should test your theory by starting a a company that makes reproductions of famous paintings and see how fast it takes for classic works of art to become valueless.

Lawtonfogle 11y ago

You can copy atom for atom, but you can't copy sentimental value. Of course, the problem is that we could actually lose the ability to assign sentimental value to any one of them. Immagine 10 identical Mona Lisas, only one of them real with the knowledge which since lost. The collection would be worth a lot, but what would be the price of 1 of them?