What is the value of money?
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Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
If a milk carton's price is $1, then that's what you have to pay for it. It doesn't matter if I value my $1 bills higher than its printed value.
Maybe I didn't say it right. If a milk carton's price is $1, that's because the person selling it for $1 in paper money determines that that $1 can be used elsewhere for something of similar value. And that's because that next person feels that the value carries forward to whatever they need. So the value of money, to paraphrase William Gibson, is "a consensual valuazation experienced daily by billions of consumers in every nation". (his original quote, if you're curious, is a definition of cyberspace "a consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation.")
Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
It's not that controversial, is it?
No, it's not controversial, but there are people that never seem to frequent the lounge whom I feel would have some better insights into your question than I, and certainly some more interesting responses. I think it would lead to a much more interesting discussion. Marc Pensieve Some people believe what the bible says. Literally. At least [with Wikipedia] you have the chance to correct the wiki -- Jörgen Sigvardsson
Marc Clifton wrote:
Maybe I didn't say it right. ...
That's sort of the point. Currencies have gone from being "real" values (for a cow hide, you'd get something real), to being "virtual". Instead of actually trading gold, we're trading weight measurements of arbitrary gold lumps. This is not even the case today with most currencies.
Marc Clifton wrote:
I think it would lead to a much more interesting discussion.
By all means, please do use your magical powers! (You can move threads, can't you? After all, you have the shield icon next to your name ;))
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Agnihothra wrote:
peterchen was talking to himself..
Are you sure? He used to correct others' calling him "Peter Chen" ... :rolleyes:
Maxwell Chen
AFAIK, while he is NOT 'Peter Chen', Peter IS his first name...
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AFAIK, while he is NOT 'Peter Chen', Peter IS his first name...
Agnihothra wrote:
while he is NOT 'Peter Chen', Peter IS his first name
I am getting even confused... :~ 2006-04-12[^] 2005-05-13[^]
Maxwell Chen
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The real value, not the stuff you can buy for it (which could theoretically be built by yourself, for free). Even if the currency is backed by gold, what is the value of that?
The value of money is that it saves you time and effort. As you stated you can, in theory anyway, build things yourself. Let's say a chair. You could chisel a rock down, and tie it to sturdy branch with some wet vines or maybe even leather. The go chop down a tree, create the pieces needed to build the chair, and maybe a week later, you could finally sit down and relax. Alternately, you could get some money and buy a chair already made. Having money, also allows you to have things without needing the skill or resources to actually make them. You can then involve yourself more in things that interest you. BW
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
-- Steven Wright -
Agnihothra wrote:
while he is NOT 'Peter Chen', Peter IS his first name
I am getting even confused... :~ 2006-04-12[^] 2005-05-13[^]
Maxwell Chen
I'm not sure, but I think "-chen" is german word play. If you add -chen as a suffix to a noun, you add a diminutive attribute to the noun. -lein is also such a suffix, although -chen is more common.
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Agnihothra wrote:
while he is NOT 'Peter Chen', Peter IS his first name
I am getting even confused... :~ 2006-04-12[^] 2005-05-13[^]
Maxwell Chen
I could be way off on this, but from what I understand, *chen can added to names or nicknames in German to make them endearing or sort of cute. My guess is Peter was called peterchen by close friends or family when he was growing up. My sister's name is Christina, our uncle gave her the nickname Stienchen, I was Pilawilchen (after a some duck in a story I think). BW
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
-- Steven Wright -
I'm not sure, but I think "-chen" is german word play. If you add -chen as a suffix to a noun, you add a diminutive attribute to the noun. -lein is also such a suffix, although -chen is more common.
Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
If you add -chen as a suffix to a noun, you add a diminutive attribute to the noun.
Just like -ette in French / old English ... Thus, peterchen stands for "little Peter" ?! ;)
Maxwell Chen
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I could be way off on this, but from what I understand, *chen can added to names or nicknames in German to make them endearing or sort of cute. My guess is Peter was called peterchen by close friends or family when he was growing up. My sister's name is Christina, our uncle gave her the nickname Stienchen, I was Pilawilchen (after a some duck in a story I think). BW
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
-- Steven WrightThanks! For your information: As you know that I am Chinese, "Chen" is my family name. The spelling Chen is from the pronunciation. The meaning of this chinese character word, "chen", stands for
old.
Maxwell Chen
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Jörgen Sigvardsson wrote:
If you add -chen as a suffix to a noun, you add a diminutive attribute to the noun.
Just like -ette in French / old English ... Thus, peterchen stands for "little Peter" ?! ;)
Maxwell Chen
:laugh: BW
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
-- Steven Wright -
Thanks! For your information: As you know that I am Chinese, "Chen" is my family name. The spelling Chen is from the pronunciation. The meaning of this chinese character word, "chen", stands for
old.
Maxwell Chen
Maxwell Chen wrote:
"chen", stands for old
:cool: I think my family name Welsch, can be traced back to be used to refer to "foreigners" centuries ago in "Germany". They used the term "Welsche", among others. Not 100% sure that's where the name comes from, but it plausible. BW
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
-- Steven Wright -
The real value, not the stuff you can buy for it (which could theoretically be built by yourself, for free). Even if the currency is backed by gold, what is the value of that?
This is what they told us in highschool: "Money is a merchandise. What makes using money different from other forms of barter is the guarantee of the state on the value of the local currency." (Pretty much word for word, minus memory slips and bad translation :-) ) Which probably means: the money is worth exactly what the government says it is. And the goverment specifies it in terms of gold. Don't ask me where to find this information, but as far as I know this is a general rule, since the guarantee is mainly for international trade, not for you and me. From what I've been told, one of the strange results of this rule is that a state has the obligation to circulate a coin or bill for the 1 unit of its currency. 1 dollar or 1 euro might not sound that bad, but when a loaf of bread is worth 1,300 lei and even the public phones only use 100 lei coins ... I don't know if I understood your question correctly or if my explanation makes things any clearer for you, but I do have to ask this: who feels the need to vote for such a question? OGR