anjohl: But value is almost entirely determined by relative scarcity.
Tallin: That is only when something is artificially given value because of rarity. Gold would still have value for its metallic properties, such as the fact that it can both carry a signal and doesn't oxidize. Energy would still have value because of what it is. It wouldn't cost the same due to supply and demand, but it would still have a use, and therefore value.
anjohl: Economically, yes. That only determines price, however. The idea I was refuting was that energy would no longer be useful if it was infinitely available. That was what the post I was responding to was essentially saying. It was using one estimation of value (price) to determine another estimation of value (usefulness). Just because something is low priced doesn't mean it is useless. Take water, for instance. Here in Canada, water is cheap. But water still has value because we require water to live. It's the same with energy, though without true necessity. If energy cost next to nothing it would still have value because we still need to use the energy. It's the difference between intrinsic and relative value. Instrinsic value is the value something has because of its intrinsic properties. Relative value is the value given something by economic conditions. Intrinsic value never changes, while relative value obviously does.
Also, "free unlimited energy" does not mean what a lot of people seem to think, at least not immediately. It means any material resources required are renewable at a pace which always exceeds what is used and that the amount of energy put in is less than the amount gained. This extra energy would thus be "free": that is, nothing would truly be lost in gaining said energy. The cost to us would still most likely exist, as the owner of the process would -- at least in the short term -- still require payment for the process. Whether that would change in the long term is another question entirely and there is plenty of fiction available which explores possibilities...
