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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#53801: May 1st 2013 at 2:17:38 PM

[up][up]You forgot the heavy. Sooooo nice and heavy. Satisfying to have in your pocket, even. tongue

edited 1st May '13 2:17:58 PM by Euodiachloris

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#53802: May 1st 2013 at 2:18:09 PM

I can pick up a rock if I want something heavy in my pocket.

Edit: I'm still seeing ads for buying gold, including one offering to "roll over my 401(k) into gold". Face Palm.

edited 1st May '13 2:23:03 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#53803: May 1st 2013 at 2:27:40 PM

The Handle: Yes but in the kind of apocalyptic society he's imagining we probably won't have many power lines active. Without electricity the electronics are just expensive paper weights.

Fighteer: Well there are certain things like food and water that are valuable no matter what society is like. Gold is only valuable if there's an established commerce system which requires a functioning government. Hence it would be useless in a post apocalyptic scenario.

edit: In a lawless society food, water, clothing, and weapons/tools would probably be traded in a bartering system. Gold is just a middle man and one that we'd remove pretty quickly in my opinion.

edited 1st May '13 2:28:47 PM by Kostya

Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#53804: May 1st 2013 at 2:29:40 PM

Of course, but food is not usable as currency; it's not fungible and it depreciates (i.e., is eaten or spoils). Currency requires a system of trade, which implies a degree of civilization above the hunter-gatherer/post-apocalyptic scavenger level.

Edit: You ninja-edited my clarification. sad

edited 1st May '13 2:31:03 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#53805: May 1st 2013 at 2:29:43 PM

Salt would be the better currency.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#53807: May 1st 2013 at 2:33:03 PM

You know it's times like this that I almost want us to break down into a hunter gatherer society just so I can watch these people try and get by on their shiny hunks of metal.

edit: The fact that I can grasp these concepts without any formal education in economics really depresses me since it means these people are incredibly stupid.

edited 1st May '13 2:33:45 PM by Kostya

TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#53808: May 1st 2013 at 2:33:50 PM

[up][up]Nah, they value gold in that setting too. Remember Sierra Madre?

[up]The greatest minds, as they are capable of the highest excellencies, are open likewise to the greatest aberrations; and those who travel very slowly may yet make far greater progress, provided they keep always to the straight road, than those who, while they run, forsake it.

edited 1st May '13 2:35:24 PM by TheHandle

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#53809: May 1st 2013 at 2:53:03 PM

[up][up]

Its less to do with intelligence and more to do with willful ignorance,

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#53810: May 1st 2013 at 3:35:30 PM

I just don't like to accept that as an answer even if it is the most logical.

GlennMagusHarvey Since: Jan, 2001
#53811: May 1st 2013 at 3:49:07 PM

I haven't been following this thread but I just wanted to post a salient story.

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2013/05/01/1945751/south-carolina-push-poll/?mobile=nc

TL;DR:

  • background info: in about a week, there will be a special election for a U.S. House seat in South Carolina. The candidates are Mark Sanford (R) and Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D). Sanford is best known for leaving office under a cloud of scandal relating to his "hiking the Appalachian Trail" when he actually flew out of the country to meet with a mistress in Argentina. Colbert Busch is the sister of TV personality Stephen Colbert.
  • apparently some people have been receiving phone calls attempting to smear Colbert Busch with various (and all false) speculative questions, masquerading as a poll.

Linhasxoc Since: Jun, 2009
#53812: May 1st 2013 at 4:00:26 PM

Hoo boy, the old "push polling" tactic again. The Carolinas have a long, (ig)noble history of that sort of thing.

OhNoABear I'm back, baby. from Exiting, pursued by a... Since: Jan, 2011
I'm back, baby.
#53813: May 1st 2013 at 4:04:54 PM

Yes, that's a bad thing those guys is doing, but I want to come back to this:

An entire 401(k)? Who the hell do they think is going to buy into that?

"The marvel is not that the Bear posts well, but that the Bear posts at all."
GlennMagusHarvey Since: Jan, 2001
#53814: May 1st 2013 at 4:17:58 PM

Someone who is convinced that the entire U.S. economic system will collapse within the next few years.

OhNoABear I'm back, baby. from Exiting, pursued by a... Since: Jan, 2011
Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#53816: May 1st 2013 at 4:23:55 PM

As I don't have a job or a retirement plan I don't exactly see why that's terrible. I don't doubt that it's stupid but would someone briefly explain why?

edited 1st May '13 4:24:04 PM by Kostya

Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#53817: May 1st 2013 at 5:15:35 PM

Well, (A), you'd have to pay taxes on the entire 401(k) when you trade it for gold instead of little by little as you use it and (B) gold constantly moves around on the scale of value. It tends to stay relatively high, but it moves enough that it could be a problem. Also, to actually use the gold, you'd have to sell it for money, possibly invoking taxes again.

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#53818: May 1st 2013 at 5:25:23 PM

Okay that sounds incredibly stupid. I hope nobody gets suckered into doing that.

AceofSpades Since: Apr, 2009 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
#53819: May 1st 2013 at 5:32:55 PM

For every plan there's at least one person willing to buy into it. So yeah, someone's already been suckered into it, probably.

Maka4 Since: Apr, 2011
#53820: May 1st 2013 at 5:34:57 PM

Talking about gold its value as a currency in a post-apocalyptic setting made me think of this.

[up]xwhatever Yeah, salt is a good one, even though its consumable.

[down] Sorry. Bah, audio quality sucks.

edited 1st May '13 5:39:40 PM by Maka4

Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#53821: May 1st 2013 at 5:37:12 PM

[up]*cough* Not all of us are Stateside... synopsis, please. smile

And, about salt: where do you think the world "salary" comes from, exactly?

edited 1st May '13 5:38:31 PM by Euodiachloris

Kostya (Unlucky Thirteen)
#53822: May 1st 2013 at 5:46:01 PM

Fuck you...

edit: And they say this country doesn't have a racism problem.

edited 1st May '13 5:46:30 PM by Kostya

Maka4 Since: Apr, 2011
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#53825: May 1st 2013 at 6:06:31 PM

Oh my goodness. How are these people this stupid?

edited 1st May '13 6:07:03 PM by Zendervai


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