Dollars and Sense

A one-minute description of a chef’s specialty dish not only focuses us on that dish for an entire minute; it also provides context and depth to the dish itself.

The words describing something and what we do at the time of consumption (language and rituals) How we anticipate the consumption experience, rather than what its true nature is (expectations)

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itself. We should be aware of the source of expectations—whether it’s the pleasure of dreams and aspirations or the irrelevant allure of brand names, biases, and presentation. Or,

When there’s a great deal of effort, we feel much better about paying more. But all that should matter is the value of that open door.

When we think about something like a job, even though there are many things that come into play, money is so specific, precise, and measurable that it comes to mind most quickly and plays a large role in our decision.

Transparency builds trust and creates value by showing the effort that we connect to fairness.

Self-herding is the same fundamental idea as herding, except that we base our decisions not on those of other people, but on similar decisions we ourselves have made in the past. We assume something has high value because we valued it highly before. We value something at what it “normally” or has “always” cost, because we trust ourselves with our o

36-inch Panasonic for $690, a 42-inch Toshiba for $850, and a 50-inch Philips for $1,480. Faced with these choices, most people choose the middle option, the $850 Toshiba. The cheapest and most expensive items are road signs funneling us to the middle option. In this case, relativity doesn’t compel us to compare one specific product to another; rat