On Monday, March 26, 2007 at 10:09:31 (-0700) Michael Perelman writes: >The idea is that you will not enjoy a 400 hp car if I have a 600 hp car.
No, what I mean is how can self-assessment of happiness possibly flatten at $15K? That would mean that after paying rent and for basic food on my meager $15,000, the ENTIRE enjoyment of a nice bottle of wine is taken up by the fear that somewhere, somehow, someone else is having a BETTER bottle. ALL the happiness I get from my new deck, on which many parties are thrown, is somehow consumed from angst over someone somewhere else having a deck with ... what, more square feet? better friends on it? How can anyone have a better bottle of wine that the one I enjoy right now with my wife and good friends? How can anyone enjoy more the exotic sauce made with Plugra butter than I do with my guests? Is THEIR enjoyment of something I share with them diminished because of the smile on MY face? This assessment of happiness seems pretty narrow: happiness also derives from others' happiness, and enjoying their enjoyment of a cool new doo-dad is, I think, pervasive. Bill
