Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[jennyshi]

Under modern conditions , personal property constitutes the most important element in accumulated wealth . It depends on the regular working of the delicate machinery of credit and is for the most intangible
, although represented by papers of various sort .

What is the delicate machinery mean ?

how to understand "the most intangible , although represented by pages of various sort" ? Is it mean intellectual property?

Would you please kindly help me , guys?

Thank you.

[bud]

Hi Jenny,

A machine is a device made of many parts that work together to fulfill a specific purpose. The 'machinery of credit' is a metaphor used to say that the system of obtaining credit is itself like a machine. It has many components (people, computers, networks, procedures, various institutions, etc.) that must work well together in order for the credit system to function properly. To say that this machinery is delicate (fragile) is to say that the system could easily fail if one of its parts failed.

Intangible describes something that has value that cannot be quantified. For example, the name 'Microsoft' itself has value apart from any Microsoft product. If you were selling a software program, you would undoubtably sell many more units if you could put 'Microsoft' on the package. However, you could not accurately determine how much that name was worth.

'for the most (part) intangible, although represented by papers of various sorts' - Often it is difficult to determine the value of personal property. Even so, usually there are documents (papers) associated with it. For example, you would have a deed for the house you own, or a sales receipt for a piece of jewelry. You would know what you paid for it years ago, but you wouldn't know how much you could sell it for today until you have made a deal to sell it. Intellectual property is an even better example of intangibility. If you have a patent on an invention, you have a document that represents your ownership. But how much is that piece of paper worth? Maybe millions or maybe nothing... Let's hope millions!

It's impressive to see the complex things that many of you students in this forum are taking on. Keep up the good work.

[jennyshi]

Thank you very much . I will work hard on it .