Distracted by the economics of silkies

It isn't what this poem is about, but there's a mention that it used to be much easier for silkies (seal/human shapechangers) to find bags of gold.

Ok, gold was made illegal for private ownership (there were exemptions for jewelers and dentists) in the US in 1933, but I don't know the history of gold coins for other countries, nor when gold coins were out of circulation enough that you'd been unlikely to find them in a sunken ship.

I'm going to assume that any silkie who was interested in gold would be tracking storms and ships so as to be able to follow a sinking ship down-- I think they'd be hard to find otherwise without tech. How deep can a seal dive? Google [seals depth -navy +mammal], you're my pal. Elephant seals dive 700 meters, harp seals (described as not as strong divers as other seals) dive 370 meters.

But what species is the typical silkie, and how deep is the typical shipwreck?

If gold is valuable to silkies, do they have an economy? What might a silkie trade to another silkie for gold? I will assume that the ocean is big enough that a silkie can just hide gold rather than needing institutions (family help?) to keep their gold from being stolen. The ocean seems safer than the silkie trying to hide gold on land.

It's all fandom's fault. I didn't used to care about world-building.

Here's a good version if you'd rather the fine old eerie stuff:

Distracted by the economics of silkies

It isn't what this poem is about, but there's a mention that it used to be much easier for silkies (seal/human shapechangers) to find bags of gold.

Ok, gold was made illegal for private ownership (there were exemptions for jewelers and dentists) in the US in 1933, but I don't know the history of gold coins for other countries, nor when gold coins were out of circulation enough that you'd been unlikely to find them in a sunken ship.

I'm going to assume that any silkie who was interested in gold would be tracking storms and ships so as to be able to follow a sinking ship down-- I think they'd be hard to find otherwise without tech. How deep can a seal dive? Google [seals depth -navy +mammal], you're my pal. Elephant seals dive 700 meters, harp seals (described as not as strong divers as other seals) dive 370 meters.

But what species is the typical silkie, and how deep is the typical shipwreck?

If gold is valuable to silkies, do they have an economy? What might a silkie trade to another silkie for gold? I will assume that the ocean is big enough that a silkie can just hide gold rather than needing institutions (family help?) to keep their gold from being stolen. The ocean seems safer than the silkie trying to hide gold on land.

It's all fandom's fault. I didn't used to care about world-building.

Here's a good version if you'd rather the fine old eerie stuff:

The Men Who Stare at Goats is gonna be a movie!

Do you like mind-blowing cynicism about the powers that be? Do you feel as though there's never quite enough unimaginable energetic stupidity to feel superior to? Have you ever suspected that the way the government behaves has a logic beyond human ken? Then The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson, an investigative humorist, is the book for you. It argues that some of the more grotesque behaviors from the CIA are the result of parapsychology theories taken up by a US general who'd been shocked by the US loss in Viet Nam.

Honestly, I have no idea whether it's true. If I had my druthers, it would be art (very good art in the spirit of Joseph Heller) rather than anything in reality.

However, this post is brought to you by what I call the Martian sociologist-- the little thing in the back of my mind which only wants interesting stuff to happen.

Anyway, the movie is coming out on November 5, and I also recommend Ronson's Them, about various conspiracies.

Movie news from a discussion of the way smarter movies are apt to come out in the fall at Marginal Revolution.

The Men Who Stare at Goats is gonna be a movie!

Do you like mind-blowing cynicism about the powers that be? Do you feel as though there's never quite enough unimaginable energetic stupidity to feel superior to? Have you ever suspected that the way the government behaves has a logic beyond human ken? Then The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson, an investigative humorist, is the book for you. It argues that some of the more grotesque behaviors from the CIA are the result of parapsychology theories taken up by a US general who'd been shocked by the US loss in Viet Nam.

Honestly, I have no idea whether it's true. If I had my druthers, it would be art (very good art in the spirit of Joseph Heller) rather than anything in reality.

However, this post is brought to you by what I call the Martian sociologist-- the little thing in the back of my mind which only wants interesting stuff to happen.

Anyway, the movie is coming out on November 5, and I also recommend Ronson's Them, about various conspiracies.

Movie news from a discussion of the way smarter movies are apt to come out in the fall at Marginal Revolution.

Two subcultures, divided by a single language

[Poll #1471423]

Two subcultures, divided by a single language

[Poll #1471423]