The relativity of values causes us to use money irrationally. I go to the supermarket to buy a $15 pen, and the clerk smiles and says, “You can buy this pen for $7 if you walk 5 minutes from here.” Then, most people walk five minutes and buy a $15 pen for $7. But if you want to buy a $1,000 jacket and the clerk smiles and says, “You can get a $992 jacket in five minutes from here,” most people simply buy the $1,000 jacket. Reasonably, walking for 5 minutes equals the effort, and the profit of $8 is the same. However, people might go to a store that sells pens cheaper, but not for the jacket, because the discount rate is too low. In other words, the relativity of comparing values makes us act irrationally. The pen’s discount rate is 55%, and the jacket’s is only 0.8%. Yet, the total amount is the same for all $8, and the effort to gain that profit is identical. Attitudes and misconceptions about consumption influence how we build wealth. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
In the Old Testament, the book of Exodus, verse 8:9, depicts a scene where God promises Moses that Israel will escape from Egypt and be led to Canaan, the Promised Land. This is described as “a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.” This event took place during the Bronze Age civilization, but God mentions the resources that exist in the Promised Land, highlighting the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. Indeed, after migrating to Canaan, Israel established a copper mine to extract copper. The advancements in civilization and technology during this period hold significant historical importance for humanity. We are currently living in one of those transformative times. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”