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”
As a classical composer, Beethoven was the first to assign the work number 'Op.' to his works. Music scholars numbered the works of other famous classical composers after they had passed away. Beethoven believed that his work would be passed on to future generations, and he made it his responsibility to do so. Therefore, uncharacterized works were not given an 'Op.', leaving him with fewer works than other composers. This attitude influenced other composers and made them responsible for their creations. Since then, of course, the number of works by composers has decreased. The responsibility of one person can affect a generation and beyond. - Joseph's "just my thoughts"