Garry K said:
And aren't those US investors so happy over the past few years, seeing their investments plummet/disappear.
Holes. Holes are great.
Agreed Garry.
A hole is nothing surrounded by something. But even though the nothing has no value to manufacture, it is given form or context by what surrounds it.
The donut is a classic example, and is probably the grandfather of the 'less is more' dictum, which specifies that you pay more for 'lite/diet' foods that contain less and less.
Four donuts (without the hole) equals five donuts (with the hole). Assuming you don't drop your prices, your financial productivity has increased by 25%, even if you're producing the same amount of dough and the consumer is still holding the same outside volume of bulk in their hand.
Even more extreme than the donut are other holes that are surrounded by ever thinner amounts of crust, eg some breads, Rice Bubbles, Aero bars, Flake bars, etc.
And almost all of society falls for this trick, of valuing exteriors over substance, though I must admit that pummelled slices of bread the size of matchboxes and the density of rocks are hardly appetising.
Holes reduce density while maintaining a solid exterior. And if you enlarge the holes on the inside the amount of substance falls, yet on the outside it looks the same - open plan houses are an example.
Two of my IPs are located in areas where the main industry is making holes in the ground. And another is where flexible networks of holes are used to catch crustacean sea-life and, further inland, making holes (or at least depressions) is a part of cropping.
In carefully considering all these matters, one can't think holistically unless one appreciates the value of holes to the whole gamut of human endeavours, whether it be extraction, production, or salesmanship.
And that's the truth, the hole truth and nothing but the truth!
Regards, Peter
