From: Lyle Burkhead (LYBRHED@delphi.com)
Date: Sun Sep 29 1996 - 22:30:05 MDT
In response to my post on the Gradient Theorem, Dan Clemmensen
says:
> Your argument is intended to cover both goods and information,
> I think.
Yes.
> With respect to goods, your argument make the assumption that
> the cost of transportation is negligable, or at least that the cost is
> less than the difference in cost between the buyer's manufacturing cost
> and the seller's manufacturing cost of the good the seller is attempting
> to sell.
Yes.
Genie machines have, along with their many other nifty features,
the ability to move things -- or to make trucks (or other devices) with
which to move things. Some people will find that they are better suited
to this task than to anything else, and they will specialize in it. They
will use their genie machines to move things... in more mundane
language, they will work for UPS. The cost of transportation will be
comparable to the cost of everything else in genie-land.
The cost of making somthing in a large-scale genie machine (a factory),
putting it on a truck or train, and shipping it somewhere, will be less,
in many cases, than the cost of reprogramming a genie machine to make
the item at home. Just like now.
The basic argument here is that you are trying to escape from the
economic system, and I'm saying you can't. You can make any
assumption you want, consistent with physical reality, and I can show
that even with that assumption, you will still be in an economy.
I will give you SI, I will give you software that replicates itself,
I will give you diamondoid materials: and given all that, you will
still be in an economy. There is no escape! <evil g>
Lyle
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