NationStates Jolt Archive

Let's assume that for whatever reason, all precious, semi-precious or even remotely profitable minerals and metals lost all their value. What ridiculous luxuries do you think we'd find to take their place? With what would be adorn ourselves to signal our wealth, and how would we prevent the dreaded middle class from emulating us?

Toast (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Butter_Battle_Book)

Toast (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Butter_Battle_Book)

Nicely done. Belly stars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sneetches_and_Other_Stories#.22The_Sneetches.22) perhaps?

Conch shells? Drugs still have their inherent value. Medicines, maybe? Me, I could be paid in conch shells and morphine, why not? :p

Somehow we'd have to prevent these items from falling into the hands of commoners, or they'd be devalued. So it couldn't really be something that the average person could access.


Vials of opiates around our necks...interesting...

Sedan chairs will make a come back, and it will be simply mah-velous.

Sedan chairs will make a come back, and it will be simply mah-velous.

Ooooh...you mean we'd adorn ourselves with the poor?

I call orphans from Africa. I might have to fight Madonna for them though.

Lets see:

Pets as accessories (a la Paris)
People as accessories (a la Gwen)
Writing your name on the lenses of your cheap sun glasses (a la Soulja Boy Tell 'Em)
Supercars (a la the rest of rap)
Whores (again rap)
World's largest pile of booze bottles (Metal/Hard Rock)

They say private islands are rather passe these days and that Tunisia is looking quite a steal.

Ooooh...you mean we'd adorn ourselves with the poor?
What else? Although, this time around we'll have to do it better. Most of the original designs only accommodate two carriers which places a simply unacceptable upward limit on the amount of decadence one can display. In order to remedy this problem, I suggest something more along the lines of this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-H9_y1HRxU).

Whuffie.

Let's assume that for whatever reason, all precious, semi-precious or even remotely profitable minerals and metals lost all their value. What ridiculous luxuries do you think we'd find to take their place? With what would be adorn ourselves to signal our wealth, and how would we prevent the dreaded middle class from emulating us?

The upper class doesn't need to demonstrate its wealth outwardly, because it is the upper class.

Crass public displays of expensive things is something for the "upper middle class," to show its disdain and prevent being mistaken for the "lower middle class."

What is more, this display has already changed from precious metals to other things- namely cars, expensive brand name clothing, technological items like ipods and expensive cell phones.

Somehow we'd have to prevent these items from falling into the hands of commoners, or they'd be devalued. So it couldn't really be something that the average person could access.


Shutting off the conch beaches a la Malibu would probably do the trick. The Coast Guard would probably be busy with pirates, but that makes for good t.v. in any event. And of course, drug companies don't seem to mind price gouging as it is. :p

Well, considering copper gold and ceramics are gone, I think we'd have more to worry about now that none of our technology works anymore.

Well, considering copper gold and ceramics are gone, I think we'd have more to worry about now that none of our technology works anymore.

Their *value* is gone, but they're still there. (Right?) Which would make computers pretty cheap, yeh? Sounds good to me. :)

Well, considering copper gold and ceramics are gone, I think we'd have more to worry about now that none of our technology works anymore.

They're not gone in this case; on the contrary, they are so abundant as to make them more or less free for the taking, or at the very least not very valuable. If they were scarce or gone, we'd be looking at a Bronze Age culture.

Their *value* is gone, but they're still there. (Right?) Which would make computers pretty cheap, yeh? Sounds good to me. :)

Nah, still have to factor in the highly skilled labor and such to make them. After all, mineral prices have been skyrocketing over the last few months, and computers are still slowly getting cheaper.

Well, considering copper gold and ceramics are gone, I think we'd have more to worry about now that none of our technology works anymore.

Someone fails at reading comprehension :P

Someone fails at reading comprehension :P

No, someone is a smart-ass.

Nah, still have to factor in the highly skilled labor and such to make them. After all, mineral prices have been skyrocketing over the last few months, and computers are still slowly getting cheaper.

I think you'd need for minerals to become very, very, very expensive to offset the price decreases from increased performance, especially once the semiconductor industry moves towards graphene and other carbon-based materials.

No, someone is a smart-ass.

Eat it, bitch.:p

If diomonds lost all value they'd probably all be turned into the newest and deadliest AP bullets/rockets/ect

Gold will and other shiny valueable elements and compounds will be put to better use rather than just sitting around making fat cats go "OOOH LOOK AT MY KEWL SHINY OBJECKTS!" Gold for example could be used more often for science, particularly the space sciences.

Bone, ivory, rare woods..

Quite right, I misread.

If diomonds lost all value they'd probably all be turned into the newest and deadliest AP bullets/rockets/ect

Um, no, a diamond bullet would be horrible.

Gold will and other shiny valueable elements and compounds will be put to better use rather than just sitting around making fat cats go "OOOH LOOK AT MY KEWL SHINY OBJECKTS!" Gold for example could be used more often for science, particularly the space sciences.

Gold is used very often in science, it's used as a conductor, among other things.

Quite right, I misread.



Um, no, a diamond bullet would be horrible.



Gold is used very often in science, it's used as a conductor, among other things.

Since diamonds are the hardest thing on earth wouldn't using them as armor and projectiles be a smart move?

Since diamonds are the hardest thing on earth wouldn't using them as armor and projectiles be a smart move?

Hardest rock, not hardest object. Plus, you want a bullet to fragment when it hits the target for maximum damage, in many cases, I believe.

Since diamonds are the hardest thing on earth wouldn't using them as armor and projectiles be a smart move?

Not really. Diamonds are very hard (noteably, they are the hardest naturally occuring mineral, there are artificially created substances that are harder), however they are also very brittle. Which means basically that diamonds can keep their form well, however, once they reach a certain critical point, they shatter. Diamond armor, for instance, would crack like glass.

Hardest rock, not hardest object.

Diamonds are not rocks. Technically they're minerals.

Diamonds are not rocks. Technically they're minerals.

Bah. Tell it to Mr. Wizard, Poindexter. :p

Positrons. No matter what we do, those are still going to be pretty rare, not least because they annihilate when coming into contact with just about anything.

Antiquarks too.

They're not gone in this case; on the contrary, they are so abundant as to make them more or less free for the taking, or at the very least not very valuable. If they were scarce or gone, we'd be looking at a Bronze Age culture.

I think that whatever technological processes are used to make such an abudance of material will then become the sought after quantity.

If, for example, all the formerly precious metals came from a special tap in your kitchen, then the skill to install such a tap would be a sought after commodity.

I think that whatever technological processes are used to make such an abudance of material will then become the sought after quantity.

along the lines of replicators?

According to Star Trek, those were powered by dilithium or some technobabble mineral. This mineral, however, is not a particularly sought-after commodity because it can be produced by.... yeah, you guessed it. <.<

I always wondered what would happen if you asked a replicator to produce another replicator. Nobody ever did that in the series, though.

I always wondered what would happen if you asked a replicator to produce another replicator. Nobody ever did that in the series, though.

I bet they were unable to as a precautionary move against inadvertent or intentional creation of out-of-control self-replicating replicators. Either that, or the people who already had them saw no reason to produce new ones on their own (perhaps lacking the skills to produce better versions of the device, rendering the ability rather useless).

In the Star Trex example, I would argue that the skill to replace or build such a device would be valuable. Thus the value of Scotty.

To be clear, I don't think this would be the only valuable thing in human society, but I do think it would be an inevitable result of such a situation.

To be clear, I don't think this would be the only valuable thing in human society, but I do think it would be an inevitable result of such a situation.

I think you're seeing more of that now; the growth of the information industry is undoubtedly a product of the massive reduction of material scarcity, which resulted from increased displacement of manual labor with automation (and which itself produces additional demand for people to design, build, and operate those machines) that has developed over the past two centuries. If we really look at it, the amount of labor we do to keep ourselves alive is a pittance compared to the amount we work for luxury goods.

Ideas have replaced raw materials and manufacturing as the primary source of economic growth.

Let's assume that for whatever reason, all precious, semi-precious or even remotely profitable minerals and metals lost all their value. What ridiculous luxuries do you think we'd find to take their place? With what would be adorn ourselves to signal our wealth, and how would we prevent the dreaded middle class from emulating us?

Things that consume labor. There is already a movement among the very rich to have hand made suits. They cost far more than their quality would suggest. You'd get just as good a suit, and just as good a fit, if you bought one off the rack and had it fitted by a tailor. But they get them built from scratch.

And the new luxury materials would be those that were difficult to work with. Sand and granite might not seem comfortable, but as soon as someone finds a ridiculously labor intensive way to make a chair out of it, ka-ching!

along the lines of replicators?

According to Star Trek, those were powered by dilithium or some technobabble mineral. This mineral, however, is not a particularly sought-after commodity because it can be produced by.... yeah, you guessed it. <.<

I always wondered what would happen if you asked a replicator to produce another replicator. Nobody ever did that in the series, though.

I thought they couldn't replicate dilithium. That's why they had to mine for it. That and latinum. Besides, the thing needs energy. To create the energy source the original replicator would have to use up a significant portion of its own energy so a replicator with the power to make 10 replicators would only produce 10 replicators each capable of creating perhaps 5 more. Then two more in the next generation and so on until you're just spitting out circuitry and glitter.

Things that consume labor. There is already a movement among the very rich to have hand made suits. They cost far more than their quality would suggest. You'd get just as good a suit, and just as good a fit, if you bought one off the rack and had it fitted by a tailor. But they get them built from scratch.

I think that's also true. There's a kind of spiritual terroir that accompanies handmade goods that isn't possible with those made by automated methods; it's the sense of history, quality, uniqueness and dedication to the art of making a fine product that you just can't get from a mass-market version. Really, it isn't even the good itself (although it is outstanding in and of itself) but the entire process that makes it unique.

Dammit, I sound like a marketing agent...but that's my real opinion. I would pay a significant premium for any hand-made good even if its quality is only marginally superior to a comparable manufactured product.

Fat. In many poor cultures, the surest sign of wealth for a man was to have several fat wives and a huge paunch - it meant he could afford to waste resources.

Other people's skin?

It puts the lotion on it's skin, or it gets the hose again.

there is nothing less gratifying, in a remarkably short "long run", the trying to impress anybody.

beyond the neccessities of survival, anything that cannot be used as a means of expressing one's self creatively is a very nearly total waste.

now lots of things that arn't usually thought of as such, CAN be utilised as means of creative expression, and or adjuncts to exploration, the other source of gratification.

and that certainly goes for a great many tecnologies. pretty much any used in scientific exploration and or engineering or any other sort of design tecnologies can be.

so i would definately go for things like super computers, rapid prototyping, even mass spectomiters, partical accelerators and of course of course anti-gravity faster then light u.f.o.'s.

mere personal adornment, or any other form of gratuitous austentation is simply boring and useless by contrast.

=^^=
.../\...

along the lines of replicators?

According to Star Trek, those were powered by dilithium or some technobabble mineral. This mineral, however, is not a particularly sought-after commodity because it can be produced by.... yeah, you guessed it. <.<

I always wondered what would happen if you asked a replicator to produce another replicator. Nobody ever did that in the series, though.

Putting on geek hat...

I believe replicators are supposed to be too complex - that is, the tiny little errors that are normally irrelevent... actually matter if you are replicating a replicator. The same has been suggested for why you can't (normally - in Star Trek there are almost always exceptions) replicate people... or things like latinum. Also - why replicated materials aren't always the same as the original... hence complaints about taste, for example.

Small, decorative vials of gasoline, or indeed clothing made of petrochemicals such as polyester -- now THERE's an irony for you.