http://www.overcomingbias.com/2006/12/gifts_hurt.html Overcoming Bias is economist Robin Hanson’s blog, on honesty, signaling, disagreement, forecasting, and the far future. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:23:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.overcomingbias.com/2006/12/gifts_hurt.html#comment-423426 Robin Hanson Tue, 26 Dec 2006 11:19:38 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2006/12/gifts-hurt.html#comment-423426 Tirta, imagine you gave one of your children twice as much stuff for Xmas as another - how do you think the one with less would feel about that? Of how would your child feel if one of their friends, with parents just as rich as you, got twice as much stuff? How would you feel? Tirta, imagine you gave one of your children twice as much stuff for Xmas as another – how do you think the one with less would feel about that? Of how would your child feel if one of their friends, with parents just as rich as you, got twice as much stuff? How would you feel?

]]> http://www.overcomingbias.com/2006/12/gifts_hurt.html#comment-423425 tirta Tue, 26 Dec 2006 07:15:04 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2006/12/gifts-hurt.html#comment-423425 what's your basis for concluding that people, when gift-giving, are comparing their gift to that of others? or consciously and intentionally playing in some kind of contest -- a war of love -- to look better than, and to deliberately harm, others? what’s your basis for concluding that people, when gift-giving, are comparing their gift to that of others? or consciously and intentionally playing in some kind of contest — a war of love — to look better than, and to deliberately harm, others?

]]> http://www.overcomingbias.com/2006/12/gifts_hurt.html#comment-423424 Gordon Worley Tue, 26 Dec 2006 00:37:06 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2006/12/gifts-hurt.html#comment-423424 Interesting. I don't know that I entirely agree, mostly because I don't feel that way about gifts, or at least I don't think I think or behave that way about gifts I receive. But then I'm a man, and maybe my feeling about gifts is different. I think we need a little more analysis on the evolutionary forces that would have caused such behavior. Interesting. I don’t know that I entirely agree, mostly because I don’t feel that way about gifts, or at least I don’t think I think or behave that way about gifts I receive. But then I’m a man, and maybe my feeling about gifts is different. I think we need a little more analysis on the evolutionary forces that would have caused such behavior.

]]> http://www.overcomingbias.com/2006/12/gifts_hurt.html#comment-423423 David J. Balan Mon, 25 Dec 2006 15:41:41 +0000 http://prod.ob.trike.com.au/2006/12/gifts-hurt.html#comment-423423 Like most important things in life, this has been explored on The Simpsons, when Apu wrecked the curve for everybody else on Valentine's Day. Like most important things in life, this has been explored on The Simpsons, when Apu wrecked the curve for everybody else on Valentine’s Day.

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