There’s a simple method to find the true value of anything. Picture yourself stranded on an island, absent government, markets, law enforcement, infrastructure and those who manage it. Under those conditions, anything that is synthetic drops to a value of zero. Money, gold, crypto, contracts, intellectual property—all become worthless. The system that gives such things value takes that value away in its absence.
What does become valuable is anything that keeps you alive. Water, shelter, fire, tools, food. A sharpened stick beats a bar of gold and the ability to hunt becomes worth more than an 8-figure digital crypto-wallet.
The island sorts everything into two categories:
(1) The high-value Survival Assets include things like tools, skills, cooperation, physical capability, environmental and technical knowledge, etc.
(2) The zero-value System-dependent Assets like currency, titles, collectibles, legal documents, status symbols, etc.
This hypothetical island scenario reveals a simple truth:
Value is utility under pressure. Only the truly valuable survives.
Now, you might think this is an extreme or overly cynical way to view the world. After all, modern life works. We’ve built systems that generate comfort, safety, convenience, and abundance on a scale no previous generation could imagine. Because the system feels stable, we instinctively value things within the system more than the things that keep us resilient outside of it.
But that’s precisely why the island test matters. It strips away the illusion that value is whatever society agrees it is. It reminds you that underneath all the layers of infrastructure, technology, law, and liquidity, the real world still runs on scarcity, capability, and survival. The system can amplify value, but it can’t create it from nothing.
You don’t need to live like a castaway, and you don’t need to assume collapse is imminent. The point isn’t pessimism—it’s clarity. When you evaluate your assets, your skills, your habits, or even your career through this lens, you get a more honest picture of what’s actually durable versus what’s just temporarily rewarded by the current environment.
In the words of Bill Gates, “…if I were born 1000 years ago, I wouldn’t survive because I am not fast or strong. … I would find myself running from a lion screaming ‘I allocate capital well!!’”