Re:A little secret that will make the world fall apart
by Xichekolas on Thursday January 29, 2009 @12:47PM
(#456757)
Actually it's the demand that makes it valuable. (And the demand stems from everyone agreeing that it is valuable.)
There is a finite amount of uranium on earth too, but the only reason it's considered valuable is because there is demand for nuclear applications.
Only a little over 10% of gold is used for industrial applications. Without the demand provided by people agreeing that gold has value as a currency, the price of gold would plummet. The high value of gold is self-fulfilling... it's based on people's faith that everyone else thinks it is valuable.
There is a finite amount of uranium on earth too, but the only reason it's considered valuable is because there is demand for nuclear applications.
Only a little over 10% of gold is used for industrial applications. Without the demand provided by people agreeing that gold has value as a currency, the price of gold would plummet. The high value of gold is self-fulfilling... it's based on people's faith that everyone else thinks it is valuable.