Rockstarism #304 – The Silk Routes Should’ve Been About Force Attax Cards

#304

Rockstar: Mum! Look what I got from (friend)! <holds up 3 cards> I gave him 2 packs for these!!

Me: Whoa, whoa how many cards in a pack?

Rockstar: 5. 

Me: And you gave him –

Rockstar: Yeah!! Cos when I saw this one card I was just so happy I gave him one pack and then (other friend) said “I know what they are. Thank you, but I don’t want them, I want the actual toys” so then I gave (first friend) his pack too! He was so happy!

Me: <examining the 3 cards he bartered for><thinking OMG our son cannot trade things, cannot, cannot> Hang on. Duplicate. Duplicate. Wait –

Rockstar: What??

Me: Did you know what the third card he gave you was?

Rockstar: Maybe. What?

Me: That’s the missing “power up” card for you to complete the set –

Rockstar: So all my Jedi cards get powered up!!!! YESS!!!!

First full “power up” set

Me: Did you actually know that when you gave (first friend) two packs?

Rockstar: Not really. I was going to give him one pack. But I was happy to see that (“power up”) card. Then (other friend) didn’t want his pack and I was still feeling happy so I gave that pack to (first friend) too.

Me: S-o technically you “overpaid” for the Jedi “power up” card, since he would’ve accepted one pack. And btw that’s how they ultimately set exchange rates between different currencies – when you want something from the US, you technically have to buy US Dollars to buy it. (His IXL math uses US Dollar currency, so I’d explained to him the difference between HKD and USD). More people wanting US stuff means more people having to buy US Dollars to pay for the stuff, when more people want something, that makes it more valuable, makes you need to pay more HKD or Aussie Dollars for the same amount of USD.

Me:……Though you could have opened both packs of cards and still not have gotten that valuable Jedi card. Still a good trade, see, the terms of trade or “exchange rate” depend a bit also on what someone is willing to pay or accept for it… When you don’t use actual money it’s called barter trade, remember that I Wonder Why book you got from the library? Where everyone was after the Silk trade? And how in the very beginning trading started because people who had too much of one thing –

Rockstar: Duplicate (card)s.

Me: Um yes like duplicate cards – they traded the extra stuff they had for stuff they didn’t have.

Rockstar: And last time people wanted silk?!

 Me: It’s hard to imagine the Silk Routes were not discovered so people could trade Force Attax cards.

(Rockstar nods gravely, Dis Is True.)

Rockstar: And Mum. Lemme tell you somethin’. Sometimes…. <like he’s making a big announcement> I just. wanna. give. cards. away. <shrugs> 

ps: Passing by the Chloe store on another card-hunting excursion, I was mildly horrified to find the Miss stopping and peering in interestedly. It turns out she’s very taken not by the bags but by the footage of models climbing trees on the in-store tv screen. Phew. I think. (She IS going to be climbing trees though, looks like)  

So brioche break..