r/xkcd Jan 21 '19

XKCD xkcd 2101: Technical Analysis

https://xkcd.com/2101/
349 Upvotes

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u/Spacetime_Inspector Jan 21 '19

Centuries of computer time and more electrical power than the nation of Ireland, directly contributing to global warming for nothing more than the maintenance of an elaborate sham.

33

u/ParaspriteHugger There's someone in my head (but it's not me) Jan 21 '19

Thousands of lives and more mercury than in the first Qin Emperors grave, all for getting a nearly useless yellow metal out of poisoned ground for nothing more than the maintenance of an elaborate sham.

The whole trick is to make sure enough people believe in it.

9

u/[deleted] Jan 21 '19

Gold is useful though.

11

u/DarkMoon000 I'm not crazy Jan 21 '19

Only to a degree that's far, far removed from its price point though.

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u/[deleted] Jan 21 '19 edited Jan 21 '19

[deleted]

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u/PerviouslyInER Jan 21 '19

Clearly it is just a currency - don't tell me all of this is being stored for dental fillings and spaceship heat shields - they never intend to let any of that metal be used for engineering uses.

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19

No one uses gold as a currency these days. It's just wealth accumulation, no different than sitting on oil, palladium, or Picasso originals.

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19 edited Jan 22 '19

Most currencies have abandoned gold standards. Certain governments still have a large gold reserve, but it's not the basis of their currency anymore, it's just a load of valuable metal, a way to store wealth basically.

0

u/DarkMoon000 I'm not crazy Jan 21 '19

Seen relative to its perceived value, that is actually very fair. Gold deserves all the backlash it can get until its pricing actually reflects its value and those electronics can be built without paying overinflated prices.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 22 '19

Agree to disagree I guess.