Personal computing discussed
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DPete27 wrote:I'd like to piggy-back this thread. I recently read about bitcoins and bitcoin mining on wiki. Can someone explain this to me? Why do we need so much computing effort to generate bitcoins? It seems to me like generating bitcoins entitles you to the bitcoins you generate. Making money for your computing efforts?
DPete27 wrote:I'd like to piggy-back this thread. I recently read about bitcoins and bitcoin mining on wiki. Can someone explain this to me? Why do we need so much computing effort to generate bitcoins? It seems to me like generating bitcoins entitles you to the bitcoins you generate. Making money for your computing efforts?
Hawkwing74 wrote:You are misconstruing the gold bug position. The value of gold doesn't necessarily rise, the value of currencies relative to gold falls.
NeelyCam wrote:W
Gold has "value" only because it's somewhat rare, and because everyone agrees it has value. But, what if everyone suddenly agrees it doesn't? You know, because there is some disaster that nukes 90% of arable land and nobody has food? Suddenly, anything that improves the food output of that land becomes way more important........ like oil?
Fossil fuel is a true rare consumable, and one that can actually be translated into something (fertilizers) that bring value (food) to human kind. When there is an absolute, global food shortage, the value of gold will crash compared to oil. Gold has become a speculative tool that everyone is using in the hopes of getting ahead of the herd, hoping that they can cash out (to what?) before it's too late.
ChronoReverse wrote:Hawkwing74 wrote:You are misconstruing the gold bug position. The value of gold doesn't necessarily rise, the value of currencies relative to gold falls.
This is a common assumption but I don't think it stands up to scrutiny.
Think about it, if your economy has collapsed and people having trouble buying food, would you care about some gold or would the sack of potatoes be more important?
cphite wrote:Actually, his assumption is correct; it's not that gold is getting more valuable it's that the value of currencies fall relative to gold. You can buy less gold for $100 now than you could a year ago, and much less than you could ten years ago, etc.
As such, gold is a great safety net against runaway inflation, because it retains it's value. We can set aside the argument over it being real intrinsic value or agreed upon value; the point is if you've got a hunk of gold, you've got something that has value in our society, and that will keep that value even as the spending power of the dollar (or whatever your local currency is) decreases.
cphite wrote:As such, gold is a great safety net against runaway inflation, because it retains it's value. We can set aside the argument over it being real intrinsic value or agreed upon value; the point is if you've got a hunk of gold, you've got something that has value in our society, and that will keep that value even as the spending power of the dollar (or whatever your local currency is) decreases.
ludi wrote:cphite wrote:As such, gold is a great safety net against runaway inflation, because it retains it's value. We can set aside the argument over it being real intrinsic value or agreed upon value; the point is if you've got a hunk of gold, you've got something that has value in our society, and that will keep that value even as the spending power of the dollar (or whatever your local currency is) decreases.
Actually, it doesn't prevent currency collapses. While the limited availability should theoretically act as a safety brake, the real world laboratory says otherwise -- the US economy and currency were not more stable during the gold standard, and likewise, the history of the 1800s was littered with commodity metal panics, including gold and silver.
OTOH, never underestimate the human capacity for greed -- the man who has stockpiled potatoes will almost certainly trade some of them for an opportunity to acquire and hoard shiny things, even to his own long-term detriment, so there's a good chance that you'll still be able to buy food during an apocalyptic event.
ChronoReverse wrote:cphite wrote:Actually, his assumption is correct; it's not that gold is getting more valuable it's that the value of currencies fall relative to gold. You can buy less gold for $100 now than you could a year ago, and much less than you could ten years ago, etc.
As such, gold is a great safety net against runaway inflation, because it retains it's value. We can set aside the argument over it being real intrinsic value or agreed upon value; the point is if you've got a hunk of gold, you've got something that has value in our society, and that will keep that value even as the spending power of the dollar (or whatever your local currency is) decreases.
Again, this doesn't stand up to scrutiny. An ounce of gold can buy a lot more groceries than it could 10 years ago. Is this because food has somehow become less valuable as well?
If gold has a steady value, why control the mining of it? If it really holds it value magically outside of the laws of economics, why not pull as much out as possible to increase overall wealth?
Why is gold particularly special compared to other precious metals that are also fairly inert, shiny and rare?
Shouldn't they have the same value properties as gold then? In that case why does the value of gold against these other metals change?
No, gold is seen as more valuable now that currency seems unsteady, therefore its value rises.
Again, if everything went to hell, would gold continue to retain its value? Of course not, you'll find buyers probably but not at the same rate. Therefore, gold has a higher value now than in 2000 for the same reason the Canadian Dollar has a higher value now.
The idea that gold somehow doesn't fluctuate in value is a scam perpetuated by those who have an interest in gold and/or getting you to buy into gold.
You are misconstruing the gold bug position. The value of gold doesn't necessarily rise, the value of currencies relative to gold falls.
ChronoReverse wrote:
Think about it, if your economy has collapsed and people having trouble buying food, would you care about some gold or would the sack of potatoes be more important?
Hawkwing74 wrote:ChronoReverse wrote:
Think about it, if your economy has collapsed and people having trouble buying food, would you care about some gold or would the sack of potatoes be more important?
I just read a book on Weimar Germany. What you said is a false dilemma as both are important.
kumori wrote:Do bitcoins remind anyone else of Cryptonomicon?