Gold is universally considered highly valuable. But why? Just because it is shiny...

Gold is universally considered highly valuable. But why? Just because it is shiny? Are humans really that superficial in their thought processes?

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Yeah, we're all just magpies at heart.

It's rare, very soft so it's very malleable (decorations etc) and It ages better than let's say silver

Because it's rare, it's shiny, and, though only recently, is good for wiring and things that need to me metal, but not rust.

In ancient times it had metaphorical significance. Gold is rare and doesn't corrode, therefore it was precious and magical. Gold was a metaphor for wisdom and divinity, the sun.

After gold lost its metaphorical significance it was used as a currency because it was difficult to obtain and because muh shiny.

Well it is worth noting that mesoamerican civilizations prized gold just as highly as Europeans despite their complete isolation from one another. So maybe we're just hardwired to like shiny things. It's also possible that because of its color and shininess it was associated with the sun and therefore associated with the gods.

It is kind of funny to me that gold is something you dig out of the ground then bury and pay people to guard.

It's a valuable commodity.

Also, it should be considered that you can easily shape it.

I do wonder what evolutionary adaptation misfired and caused us to become obsessed with precious stones and metals to the point where we unquestioningly murder each others over them.

Because it's rare. You know...Supply/demand.

What's the demand?

this
it's extremely rare and therefore naturally expensive, very moldable which makes it easy to make anything with it, does not corrode which means it lasts for essentially forever, easy to distinguish from other metals on sight alone, etc.
it's the perfect metal for being precious

its no property of the stone itself or the concept of owning the stone itself, its greed, because the more gold you have the more resources you can afford and the better life you can live. A better live means better and more chances to fuck and spread your seed and genes down.

There is a finite amount of it with increasing traditional and scientific application.

In the past gold could not be forged and it does not corrode. Even today there is no substance denser than gold that is also cheaper than gold. It makes an excellent medium of exchange. If you want to go further you can look into repeat trades and game theory.

Very interesting.

It's a little linguistic trick Ive found.

Remove the L from gold and see what turna up...
GOD

I got that reference user.

Besides electronics, what else is it good for?

>GOLD FOR CASH
>GOD OR CASH

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etymonline.com/index.php?term=gold

hmm

Currency

Read the Gold chapter of the book, 'Periodic Tales', it's a fun and informative book on the culture and history of the chemical elements.

It really depends. Back in the 1890's, aluminum was expensive to make and was worth more than gold at the time. Buy the 1940's it was cheap to make so wasn't worth much.

That said, there is no real point in hoarding gold these days. It has no productivity compared to stocks and bonds.

Sure it stores wealth, but won't make you any richer than what you are.

Exactly

>Well it is worth noting that mesoamerican civilizations prized gold just as highly as Europeans despite their complete isolation from one another.

Not exactly. They might have considered it valuable, but not in the same way Europeans did. The Amerindians mostly saw it as a fancy decoration, while Euros considered it synonymous with wealth itself (with disastrous consequences for Spain).

It's obsolete as currency though.

It has utility, is rare, and lasts forever.

Gold cannot be created by alloying or mixing chemical compounds. So it's impossible to counterfeit (well, you can make your own coins, but you still need gold to make them), making it great for money. It doesn't tarnish and degrade, and is easily worked, plus it just has a nice golden luster, which is nice for art, and the color can be changed by alloying it with different amounts of copper and silver.

For modern uses, it's main value is for electronics. It's third most conductive (behind silver/copper) but doesn't tarnish/oxidize, meaning it's better for low voltage applications.

Until everything comes a tumblin down after the apocalypse and credit is meaningless

If I shorted the market every time a web site said the financial apocalypse would happen...

...I wouldn't have any money to worry about the financial apocalypse.

And what are you gonna do with it, eat it?

Not financial apocalypse, I mean APOCALYPSE

Sell it for food, water, equipment and ammo obviously

In that case its better you spent all your money on guns and ammo instead of gold. That way you could just take people's gold by gunpoint if you really wanted to make a toilet with it.

Gold is based as fuck

ayy lmao

because it takes labor to mine gold

the gold is worth its socially necessary labor time

if you could find gold just digging in your backyard for two minutes it would have no value

So you're saying that after society collapses, people are going to trade useful things for useless metal?

I already have guns and ammo

Yes

It is amazing, indeed. Gold is a very valuable commodity. It forces those with servile instincts to become your vassal.

Checked, and you must be a Merovingian

It's valuable for the same reason that fiat currencies are valuable.

Because it's famously valuable.


Gold is just also highly fungible, and while it's easy to debase, it's hard to fake.

Possibly gold will become useful again in the rebuilding process, many many years after the apocalypse, but gold is going to do fuck all for you in the period directly after the bombs have dropped/Earth has cracked etc.

-easily malleable, can be divided or melt together
-doesn't corrode or spoil
-shines
-hard to come by, so unlikely to lose trade value because of inflation

These properties make it ideal material for jewelry or currency.

You'd think that, but I guarantee you some people will still kill for it. Maybe not a small band of survivors but a raider clan or traider of some sort would be fucking ecstatic to get their hands on some

It's rare and shiny.

Bonapartist ?