Re:Scientists find gold growing on trees in Australia
by thaumasiotes on Wednesday October 23, 2013 @06:45PM
(#6602265)
> By that analogy, if you want gold, you plant one of these trees, and get gold for free, which doesn't hold, because you'll never get more gold than how much you put in.
This isn't true, in the same way that it's not true that a gold mine will never give you any more gold than you put into the mine in the first place. There's already gold in the ground.
However, the difference isn't in the "grow" part, it's in the "gold" part. If you tell someone "I've found a plant that grows gold", their reaction won't be "wow, what an interesting mechanism", it will be "holy shit, we're rich!".
If you want apples, you plant an apple tree, then you grow apples for free. By that analogy, if you want gold, you plant one of these trees, and get gold for free, which doesn't hold, because you'll never get more gold than how much you put in.