Predictably Irrational - Chapter 1: Everything is Relative

[aquamus]

0:31 to skip intro

[miloibrado]

So Happiness depends largely on context?

[Sethraz]

A lot of Schopenhauer in here.

[brianevanswhite]

What is up with that music? Comparatively would I feel the information I took on was more valuable if that corny music wasn't playing?ha

[odalrich]

Yes, man, $65,000 in Bangladesh (a small plate) is a far larger quantity than $70,000 in the US ( a big plate); the problem is that, if you have to live in the US you will be served a big plate, and then your $65,000 will become a handful of peanuts and you'll feel rather miserable.

[bossoholic]

@odalrich Thats a lot of money over here if you live wisely. No need to be fancy, just a basic nice house, nice basic vehicle, no bull shit, live outside of the city limits, ect. People here are too greedy and spoiled (not necessarily excluding myself)

[thalesdotnet]

i get it

[MarkProffitt]

The National Post had an article titled "Westerners vs. the World: We are the WEIRD ones" saying that these psychological effects are cultural and not shared by people outside the developed Western world. The article also points out that psychological studies tend to be done on college students which further skews the results. This still confirms the overall point that human perception is highly subjective.

[ORCA4312]

@MarkProffitt I don't know. I can see some of the effect being cultural, but we are tribal creatures, and I think it is natural to be competitive with others. Nations which are 'melting pots' of many cultures are probably more prone to neighbor envy.

Being aware of it helps a lot to fight the impulses, though.

[superfly299]

They need to do a Nova episode on behavioral economics.

[Dayvit78]

i'm sorry ! this one does not work for me.. i am the highest paid employee in the company but it's not enough salary for me (i'm a foreigner in vietnam)

[isena]

@Dayvit78 but you compare to what you could have in your country.. not?

[Dayvit78]

yes clearly, that's the main reason. don't get me wrong, i like ariely's viewpoint - he gave a great speech at TED. i just think this piece is too simplistic. also check out daniel kahneman about different types of happiness...

[jestertru]

Are there exceptions? Absolutely. There are always statistical outliers - if you gave me superbowl tickets I would consider it negative value - I don't like football and getting rid takes effort/value on my part. That's not the point. Most people see such having value.

The NPV (@any realistic interest rate) for the declining cash flow is *always* larger than the increasing cash flow. So as long as money is the measure, this reality defies the basic assumption of economics.

[metalhaze1982]

That reminds me of the PARADOX OF CHOICE by bary schwarz, a must read!

[StuckMic]

I understand this theory but, what would your opinion be of a person who lives well below his/her means without concern for one's perceived status or what others might think? Many DO defy these comparisons you describe.