THE FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHER

Irrationality: The Most Magnificent & Unique Trait of Being Human

"The supreme paradox of all thought is the attempt to discover something that thought cannot think." ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Understanding yourself as a human is at the root of self-knowledge.  All kinds of success -- not just financial -- derive from it.  Perhaps the greatest and most distinctive trait of being human is the capacity to reason, to be rational.  Or could it be that what makes us unique in the animal kingdom is the capacity to stretch beyond reason -- to knowingly and purposely act irrationally.

My favorite investing and economy blog, The Big Picture, recently shared a wonderful speech, The Uniqueness of Humans, where Stanford primatologist and anthropologist, Robert Sapolsky, shares his observations of (and insights gathered from) his study of baboons. [I'll provide another direct link to the video of this entertaining and educational speech at the end of this post.]

Essentially, Sapolsky shares that humans have the same fundamental genetic makeup of all animal species.  Animals, especially baboons and chimpanzees, exhibit many of the same behaviors, such as aggression, theory of mind, empathy and cultural transmission, as human's do.  Humans, however, present these behaviors in unprecedented ways, such as passive-aggression and non-reproductive sexual behavior.

What struck me the most about the speech is how Sapolsky ended it, which was framed by this abstract phrase:

The less it is possible that something can be, the more it must be.

In other words, humans are not only capable of holding contradictory notions in their head, but even more striking, the fact that something is contradictory or seemingly impossible is the very reason it becomes a moral imperative to act on it.

Sapolsky used an explicit example of this behavior that is unique to humans by describing a Nun who ministers to prisoners on death row -- some of the most frightening, deplorable human beings on the planet. When asked why she ministers to these men, she simply replies, "the less forgivable the act, the more it must be forgiven.  The less lovable a person is, the more you must find the means to love them."  The Nun's behavior is irrational but as Sapolsky worded it, "magnificent," and the basis for a "moral imperative" to act.

...humans have the capacity to simultaneously believe in two contradictory things." ~ Soren Kierkegaard

On a side note, I thought it interesting that Sapolsky humbly admitted that his own brilliant mind could not rationalize the Nun's behavior, especially because, in his own words, he is a "strident atheist."  I found this to be a contradiction of contradictions:  This "magnificent" irrationality, which is a defining human ability -- the capacity to leap beyond the finite bounds of rational thought -- is absent in his own life. 

Furthermore, in his speech, Sapolsky used a quote from Soren Kierkegaard, who is famous for his "leap of faith" idea, which essentially says that the rational mind cannot believe in God; therefore, one must go beyond rationality to believe -- to have faith.  It is futile, therefore, to try and think of something that thought can not think.  One must simply have faith.  Kierkegaard, by the way, believed in God and was a Christian (although not in the conventional sense at the time)...  He also believed that one individual's life can impact the entire world -- another concept that Sapolsky seemed to admire but is not quite able to believe. 

If not for this magnificently irrational capacity, however, Kierkegaard, and many other important figures, may not have ever succeeded (or may not have even tried) in their most important contributions to mankind.  Some of these remarkable individuals that instantly come to my mind include Rene Descartes, Walt Disney, Thomas Edison, Martin Luther King, Jesus Christ, Harriet Tubman, Viktor Frankl, Gandhi and the list goes on...

Regardless of one's religious faith, or more specifically, regardless of the level of one's intellectual brilliance, we all limit our potential as individuals if we stop at the bounds of our own rationality.  Certainly there are implications and applications of this in the financial world, specifically with investing!  For more reading on subjects similar to this one, follow the links to my "related" posts below the video link...

Check out the video, if you have 30 minutes, and let me know what you think!

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Related:

We Are All Naive Scientists

Finding God in Behavioral Finance

Mind vs Brain Part I: We are only human

The Greatest Source of 'News You Can Use'

As a reader of this blog, you may have already gathered that I enjoy finding timeless observations of human behavior, especially by historical figures (some well-known, some not), that strike me as profoundly evident today.

The following passage, written more than 150 years ago, from Thoreau's Walden, struck me as a wonderful piece of inspiration and a potential aid in remaining conscious of one's personal information consumption and external influences, which tend to combine as a powerful source of distraction (and subtraction) from one's self-acquaintance:

We rarely meet a man who can tell us any news which he has not read in a newspaper, or been told by his neighbor; and, for the most part, the only difference between us and our fellow is that he has seen the newspaper, or been out to tea, and we have not.  In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post-office.  You may depend on it, that the poor fellow who walks away with the greatest number of letters, proud of his extensive correspondence, has not heard from himself this long while.

The Thoreau passage points to evidence of an inverse relationship between social media interaction and self-acquaintance:

• A high relative level of "news" consumption may make one more aware of current and external events but it has equal potential to make one less aware of current and internal events -- media noise, especially in the absence of self-awareness, drowns out the sound of one's own internal dialogue.
• More knowledge of financial information does not, by default, translate into more financial success.  For most, financial media increases financial anxiety, not financial prowess.  Knowledge is not wisdom.
• The addition of more "friends" on MySpace might translate into the subtraction of one friend you really need -- you.

What's really "new" about the news?  Try watching a newscast (especially local news) and try to find something different from the night before or even a decade prior.  Since "good news" does not sell, the news is filled with tragedy, crime, despair and petty political arguments -- all of which have occurred, in some shape or form, thousands of times over the course of thousands of years.  All that changes from day to day, month to month and year to year is the names and locations.

If we read of one man robbed , or murdered, or killed by accident, or one house burned, or one vessel wrecked, or one steamboat blown up, or one cow run over on the Western Railroad, or one mad dog killed, or one lot of grasshoppers in the winter -- we never need read of another.  One is enough.  If you are acquainted with the principle, what do you care for a myriad instances and applications?  To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea. ~ Henry David Thoreau

Does one really need to see and read of the same happenings occurring again and again and again? 

To be fair, all news sources are not totally sensational and useless; however, the effort and time required to find something factual, unbiased and useful is generally too great and too much of a distraction and a drain on mental health to be worthwhile.

As with anything and everything, there is a balance to be found for optimal exposure to information -- the law of diminishing returns applies:  At a certain point -- the point of a healthy balance -- each increment of increased exposure decreases the given item's utility.  This balance differs for each person and self-knowledge is the means of discovering this balance.

The greatest source of "news you can use" is you.  Have you heard from yourself lately?

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Related Post: What Would Thoreau Think of Twitter?

Thoreau Image by Shannon

Recommended Books: On Mind, Meaning & Money

"The value of many men and books rests solely on their faculty for compelling all to speak out the most hidden and intimate things." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

I recently had a request for recommended books, which I am happy to share!  Books are certainly the intelligent person's food for thought.  I would be happy to hear of any recommendations you might have (some of these books were recommended to me by readers of this blog).

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ:  I read this book more than 10 years ago and still refer to it quite often.  Author, Daniel Goleman, explains why emotional and social intelligence (EQ) is a greater predictor for success than intellectual and academic intelligence.  After reading this book, you will have a greater understanding of the human brain and why you think and act the way you do.  Self-knowledge is the most powerful knowledge and this book is among the best in this area.  It's also quite easy to read.

Man's Search for Meaning:  In this epic book, which has sold more than 10 million copies in at least 24 different languages, Viktor Frankl, a psychotherapist by trade, describes poignantly his experience in concentration camps during the Holocaust.  He observed that those prisoners who gave up on life, who had lost all hope for a future, were inevitably the first to die.  This classic book might represent the best $10 investment you've ever made.

The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less:  This aptly titled book, by Barry Schwartz, explains how too many choices actually reduces one's ability to prudently choose and how one may minimize the effect of choice overload.  Do we really need 85 different varieties and brands of crackers in the typical grocery store?

Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich: Put simply, humans are not hard-wired to be good money managers!  Jason Zweig does a fine job of pointing to neuroscience that supports this claim.  Personally, I believe that self-knowledge is the key to success in all areas of life -- not just personal finance.  This book is a great guide to understanding (and knowing) yourself as a human and how to prevent costly financial errors.

Walden: This classic piece of American literature is a masterfully written lesson on simplicity and contentment.  The book is based upon the author (Henry David Thoreau)'s life in a one-room cabin in the woods on Walden pond and his philosophical observations of life and nature during this three-year time period.  Every home library should have this book in it.

The Book of Questions: How much do you try to live now as you will one day wish you had lived?  If you had all the money you needed, what would you do?  Book author, Gregory Stock, PhD, asks hundreds of questions like these.  Answer them honestly to yourself and you will likely be a different person (for the better) after reading them.

Stumbling on Happiness:  Humans are terrible at predicting their happiness (or unhappiness); however, we continue to make plans based on these false forecasts produced by the imagination.  With a combination of science, philosophy and humor, author Daniel Gilbert delivers one of the best books I've ever read on the subject of happiness.  This is another "must have" for the pursuit of self-knowledge, which is arguably the true path to happiness.

The Philosophers Toolkit: A Compendium of Philosophical Concepts and Methods:  For any of you who like (or think you might like) philosophy but just haven't had a good introduction to philosophical concepts (such as fallacy) or methods (such as dialectic inquiry), this book is for you.

To keep this blog post digestible, I will stop here.  If more interest is shown in other book recommendations, I'll be happy to share them.  Also, don't forget to let me know which books you recommend...

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Nietzsche image by Shannon

(Why You Need to) Get 'Rich' Quickly!

"Know contentment and you will suffer no disgrace; Know when to stop and you will meet with no danger.  You can then endure."
~ Lau Tzu

With all due respect to the phrase (and outstanding blog), "get rich slowly," this financial philosophy and life pursuit has great potential for failure and even self-destruction.

How so, you ask?

The word "rich," in this context, implies and supports the misleading conventional wisdom that success in life is measured by monetary means.  Additionally, the word slowly presents an incredible impediment to even making an attempt at such a seemingly long and arduous task. 

Patience is certainly, in the opinion of your humble author, among the highest and greatest of virtues.  Simultaneously, however, it may be as close to the antithesis of achievable human behavior as one can find.  Humans, as unhealthy as this behavior may be, want to find the shortest and/or quickest path from point A to point B.  Short and quick, for the human brain, almost always wins the battle with long and slow.

Why not, then, immediately stop the struggle against human nature, remove anxiety and accomplish the goal of getting rich in the quickest fashion possible?   How can this be done?  How can this be prudent?  The answer, much like the solution to many "problems" we humans face, is quite simple:  It is a shift in perception and an alignment with personal values via the definition of terms.

"He who knows contentment is rich." ~ Lau Tzu

In essence, the phrase "get rich slowly" leads one to believe that their patience in pursuit of monetary wealth is a virtuous path.  But does this path lead to a virtuous end?  And does this end justify the means?  If, for example, one sacrifices the present for some unforeseeable future, then this delayed gratification, by default, is virtuous?  Does the pursuit of monetary goals distract from meaningful pursuits?  What is your definition of rich?  Is it possible that you are already rich?

If one defines the word rich in non-monetary terms, the seemingly herculean feat of "getting rich" may be one of the easiest (and most valuable) accomplishments of one's life.  What if "rich" is simply defined as "being content?"  Imagine how some of these definitions might make you "rich" now:

• Being in good physical, mental and spiritual health.
• If you are a parent, your children are healthy.
• Being loved and having someone to love.
• Making a difference in the life of another.
• Your life has meaning and purpose.
  

"Health is the greatest possession.  Contentment is the greatest treasure.  Confidence is the greatest friend.  Non-being is the greatest joy." ~ Lau Tzu

It is quite true that without sufficient financial health to provide the basics of life -- food, shelter and clothing -- one's non-monetary measures of health (physical, emotional & spiritual) can be eroded.  If you have enough, however, to provide these basics of livelihood, then the pursuit of financial wealth need only be a support for pursuits that truly bring meaning and purpose to your life.

There is a case for balance:  Absolute financial poverty erodes at all levels of health.  The consistent raising of the desire for greater financial wealth, beyond enough, however, may also erode at your non-financial well-being.  Contentment represents this balance and therefore is the healthiest and most virtuous definition of rich.

Sure, you can continue in your path toward financial freedom (that's another term to define) via debt reduction, spending less than you make, investing your money wisely and all of those conventional money management techniques.  But just think how much you can gain by detaching yourself from the need to define your wealth in monetary terms -- by simply learning the art of contentment?  If you are already rich in this sense, your financial pursuits become much more achievable and will provoke much less anxiety. 

Now pursue contentment:  Simply say to yourself, "I am rich;" find a non-monetary reason for this wealth and repeat this often... and you are on your way to "getting rich quickly!"

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Lau Tzu Illustration by Shannon

Related Posts & Pages:

The Diminishing Marginal Utility of Wealth

The Five-Minute Retirement Plan

The Secret to Happiness is... No Secret

Life Planning Part I: Are You a Tool?

Quotes on Contentment

Beware of 'Confirmation Bias'

"In the case of any person whose judgment is really deserving of confidence, how has it become so? ....  Because he has felt, that the only way in which a human being can make some approach to knowing the whole of a subject, is by hearing what can be said about it by persons of every variety of opinion, and studying all the modes in which it can be looked at by every character of mind.  No wise man ever acquired wisdom in any mode but this...." ~ John Stuart Mill

Do you seek out information that agrees with your perspective?  Of course you do!  And investors are certainly no exception to this behavior.  Not only do you prefer to seek views that align with yours but you tend to ignore those that do not.  Is this healthy behavior?  Perhaps it is and perhaps it is not; however, your humble author will suggest that an awareness of this human tendency is healthy and the unawareness of it is not...

"Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof." ~ John Kenneth Galbraith

Confirmation bias is the technical name for people's desire to find information that agrees with their existing view.  Information that reinforces favored preconceptions is over-weighted (also known as self-attribution bias) and any information that conflicts with this view is ignored. Taken from an investing perspective, possibly you have said something like this: "Nah, it's a short-term blip -- the market will soon return to its most recent pattern." 

"There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees." ~ Michel de Montaigne

Now that you may be at least a bit more aware of your tendency to over-weight information you find agreeable and to under-weight information that you do not, how may confirmation bias be overcome? 

• You can begin by attempting to give equal time to information sources with which you agree as to those with which you disagree.  No mind has ever grown without stretching beyond its comfort zone.  Is it not the blunt stone that sharpens the blade?
• Also beware of the mainstream media because it tends to attach itself to the bias of the herd.  Have you noticed a recent shift in the media's overall sentiment from bearish to bullish?  The popular view seems to be shifting toward stating The Recession is Over.  This is the same media that said, less than one year ago, that the US Economy was headed for The Next Great Depression.
• When you find yourself overwhelmed with reasons to make a decision to do something, force yourself to come up with reasons why you should not do it (or remember the third alternative -- deferring the decision to a later time).
• Simply be aware of what information you consume.  If information were food, would your "diet" be healthy?  Is it balanced?
• Don't be mentally lazy.  Complacency is a breeding ground for other potentially damaging behaviors, such as greed and hubris.

"The difference between what the most and the least learned people know is inexpressibly trivial in relation to that which is unknown." ~ Albert Einstein

Any person with a few minutes of time and minimal education level can find data points to support any given view, especially about something that is, at present time, unknown.  No matter how convincing an argument (or how strong your attraction to like-minded perspectives) be sure that your decisions are actually yours.

"There is only one side to the stock market; and it is not the bull side or the bear side, but the right side." ~ Jesse Livermore (hat tip to The Kirk Report)

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Source: Behavioural Finance: Insights into Irrational Minds and Markets

Can We Help Being Deceived?

"If I can assign names as well as pictures to objects, the right assignment of them we may call truth, and the wrong assignment of them falsehood." ~ Socrates

How can we be sure that we are making "the right assignment?"  The problem is that we often make assignments and assessments purely on the basis of what others have told us or what we have read in various news media.

We also accept the definition of, and adopt as our own, certain words, phrases, terminology, and symbols that are delivered to us by social conventions and all forms of media.

Is this prudent behavior?  Just because something is widely accepted or is intelligently communicated should one, by default, accept its validity?  We do it every day...

Today, I would like to share a portion of one of my favorite Socrates dialogues, where he is applying his famous "Socratic Method," as written by Plato, in Cratylus:

SOCRATES:  What is the function of names, and what good do they accomplish?
CRATYLUS:  I think, Socrates, their function is to instruct, and this is the simple truth, that he who knows the names knows also the things named.
SOCRATES:  I suppose, Cratylus, you mean that when anyone knows the nature of the name -- and its nature is that of the thing -- he will know the thing also, since it is like the name, and the science of all things which are like each other are one in the same.  It is, I fancy, on this ground that you say whoever knows names will know things also.... Do you think that he who has discovered the names has discovered also the things named; or do you think inquiry and discovery demand another method, and this belongs to instruction?
CRATYLUS:  I most certainly think inquiry and discovery follow this same method and in the same way.
SOCRATES:  Let us consider the matter, Cratylus.  Do you not see that he who in his inquiry after things follows names and examines into the meaning of each one runs great risks of being deceived?
CRATYLUS:  How so?
SOCRATES:  Clearly, he who first gave names, gave such names as agreed with his conception of the nature of things.  That is our view, is it not?
CRATYLUS:  Yes.
SOCRATES:  Then if his conception was incorrect, and he gave the names according to his conception, what do you suppose will happen to us who follow him?  Can we help being deceived?

What were you thinking about when reading this dialogue?  Personally, I imagined a modern day Socrates and Cratylus strolling down the street and catching a glimpse of CNBC on a television monitor in the  window of Circuit City.  They stop for just a moment to watch and listen to some commentary on the economy and stock market and Cratylus asks Socrates if he thinks he should follow the "advice" of the financial media pundits.  From there, Socrates delivers his dialogue...

What are your thoughts?  As Socrates asked Cratylus, "Can we help being deceived?"

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Related Philosopher Pages: Socrates, Plato

Questions for You...

"Ultimately man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked." ~ Viktor Frankl

When you read a question that challenges you to think of your own life and reflect upon the path you are currently taking, do you recognize that it is you that is asked the question or do you treat the question as rhetorical in nature?

Today, I have some questions that will actually make you think -- not only about where you have been, but about where you are going -- and how that direction relates to money, happiness, career and the course of your life in general. 

Here's a helpful hint:  Do not force yourself to answer the questions -- simply let your mind freely go where the questions lead...

At the end of the questions, I will provide the source of where you can find many more like them...

When has your life dramatically changed as the result of some seemingly random external influence?  How much do you feel in control of the course of your life?

Is it easy for you to ask for help when you need it?  Will you ask for help?

Where would you choose to be if you could place yourself anywhere on a scale from one to ten, where one is hardship, struggle, and extraordinary accomplishment and ten is comfort, peace of mind, and no accomplishment.  Why?  Where are you now?

If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone?  Why haven't you told them yet?

If you could spend one year in perfect happiness but afterward would remember nothing of the experience would you do so?  If not, why not?

Would you rather be extremely successful professionally and have a tolerable yet unexciting private life, or have an extremely happy private life and only a tolerable and uninspiring professional life?

Do you have any specific long-term goals?  What is one and how do you plan on reaching it?

For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

Does the fact that you have never done something before increase or decrease its appeal to you?

If 100 people your age were chosen at random, how many do you think you'd find leading a more satisfying life than yours?

Would you like to know the precise date of your death?

Would you accept a guaranteed, lifetime allowance of $50,000 per year (adjusted annually for inflation) if accepting it meant that you could never again earn money from either work or investments?

If you learned you would die in a few days, what regrets would you have?  Were you given five extra years of life, could you avoid those same regrets five years hence?

What would you like to be doing five years from now?  What do you think you will be doing five years from now?

Since so many people place an emphasis on a happy private life, why do people often wind up putting more energy into their professional lives?  If you feel your private life is more important to you, do your priorities support this?  Are you simply unwilling to admit that work is more important?  Do you use work as a substitute?  Do you hope professional success will somehow magically lead to personal happiness?

Do you feel you have enough time?  If not, what would give you that feeling?  How much has your attitude about time changed as you've aged?

Can you envision how you are likely to look back upon things you are doing today?  If so, how much do you try to live now as you think you will one day wish you had lived?

"Freedom from the desire for an answer is essential to the understanding of a problem." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

Did you answer the questions or did you allow your mind to go where the questions lead you?  Did you discover anything of value?  Were there certain subjects, such as money, happiness or career, that made you pause to think more than others?  Why do you think that is?

Often it is not the answers that help us in reflecting on our own lives but by going where the questions take us -- to a vision of the past, present and future -- to a place where the answers may be revealed to us as individual people and what steps we may want to be taking going forward...

For more questions like these, I recommend The Book of Questions.  The book sure clarified a few things for me...

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Related Post:  Life Planning Part III:  Creating the Plan

Is the fear of erring an error in itself?

The historic level of volatility in recent weeks is sure to shake the confidence of any investor, trader or money manager.

Does this type of environment not reflect what has happened in past bear markets?  Do we not always have the greatest doubt in the most dire of circumstances?  Is it not our "fear of falling" that perhaps is the cause of our falling?

Today's Uncommon Wisdom comes from G.W.F. Hegel (1770-1831).  You may want to read it at normal pace one time then slowly a second or even third time:

...if the fear of falling into error is the source of a mistrust in Science, which in the absence of any such misgivings gets on with the work itself and actually does know, it is difficult to see why, conversely, a mistrust should not be placed in this mistrust, and why we should not be concerned that this fear of erring is itself the very error.

Is your patience being tested like never before?  It is sure to be tested again.  Perhaps we should be careful not to allow ourselves to make the mistake of trusting our mistrust or of fearing our fear...

The 'Interception of Entropy'

"Just as the constant increase in entropy is the basic law of the universe, so it is the basic law of life to be ever more highly structured and to struggle against entropy." ~ Vaclav Havel 

What can we learn from entropy and how does it apply to human behavior?

Entropy is a term central to the second law of thermodynamics and can be scientifically described as a "measure of the unavailability of a system's energy to do work."  It is a derivative of a Greek word translated as "a turning toward" and Webster's Online Dictionary offers a broader definition of entropy as "a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder."

Can we possibly avoid turning toward degradation and disorder in our lives?

"Question: Who governs the governors? Answer: Entropy." ~ Frank Herbert

The inspiration for this post comes from a recent book I read called, Leadership is an Art, where entropy is creatively employed by the author, Max De Pree, as the tendency toward deterioration from within the corporate structure.  De Pree urged leaders in organizations, his corporate clients, to stop entropic activities -- to "intercept entropy."

My only disappointment with De Pree's idea is that he did not expand on the interception of entropy as a broader human condition that extends far beyond the work place and into all areas of our lives; therefore, I will take the interception farther...

"Entropy is the normal state of consciousness -- a condition that is neither useful nor enjoyable." ~ Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

A common scientific example of entropy is the melting of ice:  As an ice cube melts, it changes states.  To change states, the ice cube's molecules must increase in activity.  This increase is an increase in disorder -- an increase in entropy.  It is important to note, however, that energy is used to melt the ice but no work is done -- so it may be considered useless energy.

"Only entropy comes easy." ~ Anton Chekhov

Much like entropic activity in physical science, human behavior also has a tendency toward useless energy that may come in the forms of apathy, complacency and inertia just to name a few.

The key observation to make at this point is that humans are not ice cubes.  We have been blessed with intellectual faculties that provide the capacity to alter our own course -- albeit at a slow and deliberate pace -- we have a mind that is more powerful than the brain -- we have the ability to make choices and changes -- our activity need not be useless.

The challenge with intercepting entropy is that most of our useless energy essentially comes in the form of bad habits that have become automatic and of which we are unaware; therefore, we may define our term as such: 

The Interception of Entropy = awareness of (and subsequent mindful attention to) the existence, causes and prevention of entropic activity.  In simple terms, the interception of entropy is learning good habits and unlearning bad ones.

Of course, the awareness of the existence of entropy in an individual's life is up to the individual. Once this awareness exists (hopefully with the aid of this post) most of the work is done and we may see more clearly entropy's causes and effects:

• Apathy
• Complacency
• Superficiality
• Greed
• Media noise
• Social conventions
• Language
• Inertia
• Hopelessness
• Ignorance of Ignorance 
• Resistance to change
• Strict adherence to plans
• Absolute submission
• Absolute aggression
• Following the path of least resistance
• The thinking that more equals more and less equals less 
• Yielding to political correctness
• Yielding to influences from external sources 
• Placing money and social status ahead of principles
• Prioritizing price higher than value 
• Failure to find meaning in mistakes and suffering
• and witnessing evil while doing nothing...

Can you think of others?

"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." ~ Lau-tzu

Now that we are aware of entropy's existence and some its causes and effects, it is your task to begin its interception...

I see entropy as a natural occurrence; however, our natural tendencies as humans and individual personalities are not always conducive to our well-being.  The natural path is not the same as the chosen path -- the prior is by default, the latter is by choice. 

I see entropy as part of the larger struggle of mind vs. brain -- without mindful attention to our condition, we may just end up where we are heading, and that may be for the better or for the worse...

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Related Posts:

Mind vs. Brain Part I: We are only Human

The Lesson of the Moth

Are You a Boiling Frog?

The 'Experience-Stretching Hypothesis'

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." ~ Epicurus

Can you think of a time in your life when you were quite content with much less in terms of material wealth than you have now?  Do you recall a time when you thought to yourself, "Once I reach X level of income, my life will be so much better?"  What happened once you reached X level of income and even surpassed it?  Would your "past self" be satisfied with the material wealth of your "current self?"  Why or why not?

One of my favorite books, actually recommended to me by a TFP reader, is Stumbling on Happiness, which is a fascinating study of the human condition supported by an entertaining and informative balance of neuroscience, psychology, philosophy and humor.  Author, Daniel Gilbert, explains the evolution of the measure of happiness and its uniqueness among individuals and as compared to that of others, in the frame of the Experience-Stretching Hypothesis, which I found to be particularly interesting and useful:

Experience stretching is a bizarre phrase but not a bizarre idea.  We often say of others who claim to be happy despite circumstances that we believe should preclude it that "they only think they're happy because they don't know what they're missing." Okay, sure, but that's the point.  Not knowing what we're missing can mean that we are truly happy under circumstances that would not allow us to be happy once we have experienced the missing thing.  It does not mean that those who don't know what they're missing are less happy than those who have it...

From what I could gather, the Experience-Stretching Hypothesis is an application of contextual theory, as put forth by T. Hagerstrand (Regional Studies, 1984), which argues "that the contexts in which human activity takes place -- the time, the space, and the place in the sequence of events -- are crucial to the nature of that activity." Daniel Gilbert highlights the contextual experience as highly subjective and iterates it as such:

...claims from someone's point of view -- from the perspective of a single human being whose unique collection of past experiences serves as a context, a lens, a background for her evaluation of her current experience...

I will reiterate that the perception of any given experience will typically change, or "stretch," over time with regard to the same experience and the same individual.  As Gilbert says, "Once we have an experience, we are thereafter unable to see the world as we did before."

"Children's talent to endure stems from their ignorance of alternatives." ~ Maya Angelou

An immediate example that comes to my mind is the early developmental stages of childhood and the increasing levels of stimulation required to "be happy" as we age.  I recall, when my two young children were toddlers and were given a gift, they were more interested in the wrapping paper than the gift within it.  In fact, I seriously doubt that they even knew or cared that there was another experience waiting for them within the package...

Adults watching a child opening a gift will think to themselves or say aloud, "How cute!  She actually likes the ribbons and paper more than the toy!"  Then another adult will likely hurry the child along to open the next gift.  Knowingly or not, adults will "teach" a child to stretch the child's limits, or experience, of happiness to something greater than it needs to be... For, as children ourselves, we also discovered that there was always more that we could obtain, and our quest for the next greater experience was henceforth perpetuated.  Are we not still "teaching" ourselves to do this every day in our actions?

"What is important in life is life, and not the result of life." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

As with any experience or pursuit that comes attached with emotion, whether it be the acquisition of wealth, a career advancement, an investment decision, or of sexual gratification, the expectation or anticipation of the experience is almost always greater than that of the acquisition or realization of our desire's object.  It's "the thrill of the chase:" 

Once we acquire the wealth, the better job, the genius stock trade, or the sexual gratification, we are already looking toward the next greater experience -- the proverbial carrot that we will never quite reach...

"If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires." ~ Epicurus

It is my unscientific guess that most people who would say that they are truly "happy," would also say that their happiness is not a function of obtaining an end -- it is one of finding pleasure in the act of pursuing happiness, which is the means to an end, illustrated in a common metaphor, the journey -- with little or no consideration for where the journey will take them.

If we simply become aware of our experience stretching, we thereby enable ourselves to slow or even stop the stretching of our happiness by mindfully seeking contentment and by finding pleasure in the pursuit rather than in some unidentifiable, or even unreachable, reward.  This fulfillment, for us all, is the journey, itself -- the contentment of where we are now -- It is the ribbons and paper...

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