Is money infinite?
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Soldato
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This thread broke my mind
Yup as d_brennen said you can print money, you can't print value. Ultimately though humans made the system we can also break it. I find it funny the way many "see" the economy like some out of control monster with a life of its own that at best we can learn to somewhat tame.
The "economy" is the outcome of over 6 billion individuals pulling their own separate ways it is uncontrollable, attempting to make sense of and predict the, often conflicting, actions of billions of people is pretty much impossible
One thing to remember is no physical thing has any real or intrinsic value, value is purely a human perspective
For instance if I say to you which is more valuable 3 days worth of water or 3 kilos of gold?
The answer may seem obvious, but if the situation is you're stranded in the desert and it's at least 3 days till rescue suddenly the values are radically different
For instance if I say to you which is more valuable 3 days worth of water or 3 kilos of gold?
The answer may seem obvious, but if the situation is you're stranded in the desert and it's at least 3 days till rescue suddenly the values are radically different
Caporegime
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Exactly, who knew made up money by a geek out of a bedroom actually has a value...Bitcoin anyone?
Money is merely a barometer of measure of value, it's sort of like a unit to measure everything else by, so it's infinite.
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According to forum member dowie, infinite can be quantified with a number. However he refuses to explain how. Bit of a shame as that would change everything we know about infinity, but maybe dowie wants to keep that esoteric knowledge to himself. 
^^ eBay disagrees with your valuation, that note is worth up to about £30 (~US$45) looking at the listings for them
Face value. Their worth to western collectors is increasing as they are being handed in/destroyed in exchange for USD making them rare.
^^ eBay disagrees with your valuation, that note is worth up to about £30 (~US$45) looking at the listings for them
really! i have a whole set of them.
anyway, i guess it is infinite if you wanted it to be - the bank could print an unlimited amount of money if it wanted to but then it would all become worthless so not much point.
According to forum member dowie, infinite can be quantified with a number. However he refuses to explain how. Bit of a shame as that would change everything we know about infinity, but maybe dowie wants to keep that esoteric knowledge to himself.
lol no
you just misunderstood what was being discussed:
We can still put a number on a countries economy though. As long as you can place a number on anything, you negate infinity. Why are you struggling to grasp this simple premise? Just say you're mistaken and move on.
people were talking about infinite economic growth
you seemed to think an economy of size 'infinity' was being discussed... 'name a number that is infinite' is rather irrelevant
something can be growing infinitely while still having a defined rate of growth and a finite size at a particular moment in time - so yes you can 'place a number' on it and no that doesn't 'negate infinity' as you put it...
it is said to be infinite growth as there is no limit to it
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Associate
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Just print a note saying £∞
Soldato
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Some interestings. Am I right in thinking that:
1. Money used to be backed by gold, but clearly that was not a good long term bet, so now it's backed by a complicit understanding that the governments/banks will guarantee/support the currencies. Kind of a system of belief if you will.
2. The value of money is clearly defined by what you can buy with it, we shop around as consumers, we work hours to bank money, which is then spent on goods/services etc, but the whole system is still just hinging on a perceived worth of a currency when traded against blood, sweat and tears.
3. Sometimes people can almost fabricate money, take for example those trading card games, they print these cards that are really rare compared to most, and the value of these rare cards can become staggering. In the end it's just a card, but the rarity of it lends itself to a perception of value.
1. Money used to be backed by gold, but clearly that was not a good long term bet, so now it's backed by a complicit understanding that the governments/banks will guarantee/support the currencies. Kind of a system of belief if you will.
2. The value of money is clearly defined by what you can buy with it, we shop around as consumers, we work hours to bank money, which is then spent on goods/services etc, but the whole system is still just hinging on a perceived worth of a currency when traded against blood, sweat and tears.
3. Sometimes people can almost fabricate money, take for example those trading card games, they print these cards that are really rare compared to most, and the value of these rare cards can become staggering. In the end it's just a card, but the rarity of it lends itself to a perception of value.
Soldato
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At first we must be sure of growth not contraction. It is possible for a country to come to an end in defined terms, its government even its people.
China and Japan have a declining population and especially this matters where their working population is contracting, this would suggest until reversed that country is not undergoing growth but contraction. If the money supply is being expanded at the same time it's going to lead to much lower value I think.
Growth is not infinite but we dont fix the estimate to just one life span, its just a question of what rates are attached to the use of that money I think and how much growth average we expect. Those who lend value to a currency expect a return of some kind, its not an infinite reserve and this value can be placed elsewhere
Money is just used to describe value and exchange in trade between people even while the currency extends beyond strict borders, it has to serve a purpose to those using it. If UK money goes from a population of 60 million to being used by billions, its not infinite but its a very large potential. Dollars are currently used by every country of the world so Im expecting it will reverse and become very much finite
We used to trust the chemical properties of gold would be valued tomorrow similar to what they were previously. That seems a fair bet, gold is inert (I dont want it or value it really personally but I cant deny it doesnt change at all even over years). Now we trust politics will lend value and not vary considerably but history shows the path of one country especially does alter drastically so I expect its currency not to be as stable as gold.
Most people want to earn their money, store its value for when they are not working or not able even so of the two I'd expect gold to pass value over time far better then politics holds in its modern federal reserve notes or our own Bank of england notes, neither holds assets beyond the licence and access to this political control
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Soldato
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How much change would I get if I purchased 2 pints of London Pride and a packet of Mini Cheddars with that note?