Like the rest of us that are following this thread, I read the Wired article and others linked here with great interest. It's always fascinating when technology rips apart an entire industry. We've seen it over and over again, from steam power to combustion, tube to solid state transistor, pre-press to desktop publishing, and now diamonds. Intel might even get a run for their money by some new start-up that beats them to market with a diamond chip.
And like most of you, I am a fan of entrepreneurism and see cartels like DeBeers as the enemy of a free market. I don't feel comfortable sinking a huge chunk of change into some rock that is valuable because they say it's valuable, and I don't like the idea that some Dutch broker is getting rich off the back of some miner because he controls supply. It's gonna be interesting, and I've already discussed these unfolding events with my girlfriend (who, someday, I hope I might be lucky enough to marry).
Do I want to save a few thousand bucks on an engagement ring? Well, on first thought, abso-freakin-lutely! I don't buy into the "diamond is forever", and I see the tradition of women wearing a diamond as a symbol of self valuation as pretty sick. On second thought, though, I really do want to make sure that when I get married, it's a lifelong commitment that I've thought through. I want to have crossed deserts and climbed mountains as a test of my commitment. I want to have starved and suffered in all of the hot deals I'll have to miss as I save $$$ to cross the hurdles to her heart and to prove to myself, her, and the world that I have made a choice, taken it very seriously, and committed myself to it. Right now, the diamond provides that hurdle, and I see that hurdle as a good thing. I'm no family values guy, but having grown up in a fragmented home, I think we're all better off if we can avoid divorce.
On second thought, perhaps this isn't such a good place to save a few bucks... Bring on that diamond CPU!
And like most of you, I am a fan of entrepreneurism and see cartels like DeBeers as the enemy of a free market. I don't feel comfortable sinking a huge chunk of change into some rock that is valuable because they say it's valuable, and I don't like the idea that some Dutch broker is getting rich off the back of some miner because he controls supply. It's gonna be interesting, and I've already discussed these unfolding events with my girlfriend (who, someday, I hope I might be lucky enough to marry).
Do I want to save a few thousand bucks on an engagement ring? Well, on first thought, abso-freakin-lutely! I don't buy into the "diamond is forever", and I see the tradition of women wearing a diamond as a symbol of self valuation as pretty sick. On second thought, though, I really do want to make sure that when I get married, it's a lifelong commitment that I've thought through. I want to have crossed deserts and climbed mountains as a test of my commitment. I want to have starved and suffered in all of the hot deals I'll have to miss as I save $$$ to cross the hurdles to her heart and to prove to myself, her, and the world that I have made a choice, taken it very seriously, and committed myself to it. Right now, the diamond provides that hurdle, and I see that hurdle as a good thing. I'm no family values guy, but having grown up in a fragmented home, I think we're all better off if we can avoid divorce.
On second thought, perhaps this isn't such a good place to save a few bucks... Bring on that diamond CPU!