[Philosophy] Value

[ZetaX]

Not an exact year, yeah, but I think it's a safe bet that people start smelting stuff not very long after fire was discovered. It'd be as simple as throwing rocks into the fire, though occasionally molten metal would leak out of their ores if heated long enough.

Most metals need significant temperatures to melt (e.g. gold). Those that don't are mostly found as ores, i.e. in chemical compounds, and thus you need a lot of energy to turn them into metal. In both cases you would need something hotter than your usual small campfire.

[shynung]

Charcoal can burn pretty hot, and are usually used to forge iron. If the ancient people have access to that, they could smelt metals.

Making charcoal isn't very complicated either. Burning wood or coconut shells in a pit would produce some charcoal. After the ancient people found that limiting the air supply was the key, building stone kilns to improve efficiency aren't very far off.

Edited June 12, 2015 by shynung

[78stonewobble]

Another relevant video:

It's interesting how much of this is ... seemingly... mass "psychosis" (yeah ok, a harsh word).

Bubbles wouldn't be as disruptive if more people had a healthy scepticism approach (if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is), were carefull not to over invest and possibly better prioritization in their lives.

[Xannari Ferrows]

It may be a coincidence that I live on a deposit where it's not uncommon.

@peadar1987 I have been at it for years. That was my life savings of what I found up to this point, and that point will go unspoken for privacy purposes [just in case anyone was curious]

Also, noobish geology question: What is Pyrite?

[andrewas]

AKA Fool's Gold - its a salt of iron and sulphur, and doesn't look much like gold but people have made the mistake in the past.

[Xannari Ferrows]

So it kinda looks like Mica, but more rugged and monochromatic? That'd make sense to me.

[vger]

Why are we asking about melting things, while the thread was asking about value ? Are melting things have value ? (well, depends on how you parse it)

I think the answer to your question can be answered by the following question:

What is a best way too troll a grammar ****?

[Aanker]

It may be a coincidence that I live on a deposit where it's not uncommon.

So you just walk out your door and find a few shimmering nuggets on the ground?

Usually, a large private gold find results in this:

Your story just doesn't add up. If you're able to find the gold and identify it, you surely must know enough about it to also know its value. Gold, because of its aesthetic and cultural value, frequently plays a part in children's fairy tales, movies, music, literature as an object of wealth. You wouldn't have to be a professional or even amateur geologist to know this.

[Xannari Ferrows]

Your story just doesn't add up. If you're able to find the gold and identify it, you surely must know enough about it to also know its value.

Well, I literally don't know what else I can say. Apparently I'm just that stupid. I'm still kicking myself in the teeth for that.​

The quantities I find per sluice are quite small, but they add up fairly fast if you do it every day, which I stopped a while back. It's not worth the effort.

[Nibb31]

Yeah right, your house is sitting on a gold deposit in Wilmington, NC, but it's not worth picking it up.

Believe me, if that was true, someone else would be picking it up and you would not be living there.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Nibb31

[Xannari Ferrows]

Yeah right, your house is sitting on a gold deposit in Wilmington, NC, but it's not worth picking it up.

Believe me, if that was true, someone else would be picking it up and you would not be living there.

I change the display of where I live between 4 different locations for every website I create an account on. You really think I'd tell the truth about that?

Like I said, I'm not even gonna try to say otherwise. Believe what you will, and shout it all in my face if you want to; get off some steam. I'll be here.

"The path to realization can only be recognized by the individual. It is often the ones who believe they are following it that are ignorant."

"The testimony with the most holes often proves most useful."

"Viewing the world through eyes is like seeing a trapezoid outline on a door. If you remove the rest of the room, you can't tell the difference."

[vger]

El Dorado.