wood for sheep?
this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2024
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Fuck, even the gold isn't safe.
Gold isn't terribly useful as a metal. Sure it's valuable but mostly because people see it as valuable and perceptions can change.
Everyone needs a place to live and on top of that land can be used for making money even if land itself isn't as lucrative.
Yes and no.
Gold has been used as a currency historically for many reasons. It's inert. It has a low melting point. It's malleable and easily divisible. It doesn't tarnish. A piece of gold from 2,000 years ago will be the same weight today as it was then. It also is attractive, which gives it value for jewelry. And, importantly, it's predictably rare and can be mined.
Today, it's also valuable for electronics. Its inability to tarnish makes it fantastic if you need a connection to be corrosion resistant.
There's a reason gold still holds its value even though it's not used for currency anymore.
Gold's value isn't tied to its usefulness. Based on statista, less than 7% of global gold use is for "technology". The rest of it goes to jewellery, investments and banks.