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”
The reason pencils can be writing instruments is due to pencil lead. The material used for pencil lead is graphite. The graphite element is carbon (C), and four carbon atoms are combined. One carbon atom can have four bonds and can combine with another element. Diamond is similar to graphite, with four carbon atoms. However, diamonds have four carbon bonds that create a strong covalent bond with other carbon atoms, while graphite has only one weak bond. We can write or draw with a pencil because of this loose combination. When you apply pressure to the pencil with your finger, this weak bond in graphite breaks, leaving some of the crystals damaged. Don’t view it merely as a pencil; it’s a diamond’s cousin. The degree of consanguinity is very, very close. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”