And my point is that a link to the real world won't prevent a token from zeroing out. There's just no value proposition there. PoW alone isn't enough to add value to any blockchain project. It's people willing to run nodes and serve as transaction validators that makes a decentralized blockchain work.
The notion that PoW - in particular, the amount of energy spent on PoW - adds intrinsic value...[snip]
Again, we agree on the general notion that a single factor won't save a coin. As for the 'no value proposition' to PoW, it is also only a factor. It obviously won't save the coin *on its own*.
One traditional calculation of intrinsic value, in the context of a non-earning asset, is simply the sum of the costs of production and delivery to market of the item. A PoW coin, *by definition*, has intrinsic value. Of course, this is not to be confused with, nor a guarantee of, 'market value', lol.
Anyway, if I can't convince you that PoW has meaning and value offsetting some of its 'wasted' energy, perhaps you can make a case for the PoS alternative?