psychology

The customers, mostly well-to-do vacationers with little knowledge of turquoise, were using a simplifying principle—a stereotype—to guide their buying: expensive = good. Research shows that people who are unsure of an item’s quality often use this stereotype. Thus the vacationers, who wanted “good” jewelry, saw the turquoise pieces as decidedly

Nature and history do not agree with our conceptions of good and bad; they define good as that which survives, and bad as that which goes under; and the universe has no prejudice in favor of Christ as against Genghis Khan.

In fact, a competitive situation can induce a “feeding frenzy” for a scarce good, even among seasoned negotiators. Take the story of Barry Diller, an executive at the TV network ABC , who was considered a mogul for his success in the entertainment industry. But then, in 1973, he paid 3.3 million dollars for the right to show the movie The Poseidon

take them to the bank, every cheque was hand signed by Oasis frontmen Liam and Noel Gallagher. With pen and ink alone, the band saved themselves a fortune.

Even George Washington wanted to be called ‘His Mightiness, the President of the United States’; and Columbus pleaded for the title ‘Admiral of the Ocean and Viceroy of India’.

It is our own mind we must explore, not the bare expression of another. The darkness of our subconscious pours into our conscious mind when confronted with mystery.

People turn to crystal balls and tarot cards not for hard answers but for a story that gives them a feeling of control over their lives.

All the things a gamified world promises in the short term — pride, purpose, meaning, control, motivation, and happiness — it threatens in the long term. It has the power to detach people from life itself, rewriting their value systems so they favor the recreational over the real, and the next moment over the rest of their lives.

Remember, nobody who is actually happy has to stand in front of a mirror and tell himself that he’s happy.