Finance and Investing

Showing only those parts of the discussion that lead to #4147.

See full discussion·See most recent related ideas
  Log in or sign up to participate in this discussion.
With an account, you can revise, criticize, and comment on ideas.

Discussions can branch out indefinitely. Zoom out for the bird’s-eye view.
Dennis Hackethal’s avatar

Apparently, stocks have fallen since the dot-com bubble when measured in gold instead of dollars: https://x.com/elerianm/status/1976237139185574170

Some comments suggest measuring stocks in gold is arbitrary, others say this development is simply due to inflation.

Are they right or is this development a deeper sign that the economy is in trouble?

Benjamin Davies’s avatar

Measuring the stock market in fiat is more arbitrary than measuring it in gold.

A short video relating to that:
https://youtu.be/AGNvdN1Lw9A?si=b5vO7kx_pTRgEgrZ

Criticized1*
Dennis Hackethal’s avatar

Wiener says the dollar can go up or down in value (usually down; prices usually rise).

He suggests that, due to this volatility, measuring the value of something in dollars is like measuring the width of a physical object using a rubber band. He implies that this measurement is unreliable and arbitrary because you can ‘stretch’ it just like a rubber band.

He concludes that we should measure the value of something in ounces of gold instead.

Am I understanding Wiener correctly?

👍Benjamin Davies’s avatar
Benjamin Davies’s avatar

Yes I think so.