This is actually a great metaphor and phrasing and I'm filing it away for later btw.
It's a bit more than a metaphor :) during the California gold rush there was this guy named Sam Brannan who sold shovels and other tools to miners, and made a fortune from it (he is often referred to as California's first millionaire). He also had a newspaper at the time, the California Star, which as you can imagine was used to promote the gold rush:
> The excitement and enthusiasm of Gold Washing still continues—increases. (1848)
Re:My AI skeptic friends are all nuts
by tsimionescu on Monday June 02, 2025 @06:37PM
(#44163973)
Note that it's a pretty common cliche, usually phrased something like "in a gold rush, the only people guaranteed to make money are the guys selling the shovels".
Re:My AI skeptic friends are all nuts
by kwertyoowiyop on Monday June 02, 2025 @06:43PM
(#44164031)
It’s actually an offbeat take on that common cliche.
If you’re selling shovels to gold miners, you don’t need to demonstrate the shovel - you just need decent marketing to convince people there’s gold in them thar hills.