Paris iPhone Photo Chronicles
~ Tomorrow Never Knows ~
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Postponing an unpleasant task, such as doing your homework or writing that onerous report is something I'm a qualified and experienced specialist in.
Today's consumer-driven, instant gratification society, on the other hand, would have us believe that waiting until tomorrow to make that 'essential' purchase is absolutely the last thing we should do. And what's more we don't need to - check out this handy credit option we've devised just for you at such an attractive rate...
Economists have a principle known as 'maximising satisfaction'. The problem is in deciding at just what point our satisfaction will be maximised by the purchace of that new smart phone, say. The problem is, we know that the Apple iPhone 5 will be better than the version 4S, and possibly better than the Samsung Galaxy III, but this means waiting, and that wait can sometimes seem interminable and insufferable.
Another problem is that the iPhone 5 isn't the end of the line. The version 6 will surely be better still, increasing our satisfaction once again. Later.
This works all over the place in all aspects of our lives. If we skip a holiday this year, next year's could be amazing with twice the money to put into it. With twice the satisfaction? Maybe, but is the opportunity cost of a miserable staycation this year worth it?What about drinking that special bottle you've been saving for just such an occasion. And yet could you accept the nagging feeling that it would have been just that much better next year if you'd waited?
Donating to charity now would save lives. And yet waiting a while, investing the money, and donating more later would save more (other) lives. Those you didn't save this year will be dead, of course. Like empty bottles of vintage Bordeau waiting to be carted away and recycled like any other receptacle of cheap plonk.
I replaced my camera yesterday. I couldn't wait. I'd weighed all the odds, balanced the pros and cons, and it seemed to me that my satisfaction would be fairly high by doing so. And I got it on zero percent credit terms, exceptionally, as a valued customer of the FNAC store here in Paris. Instant gratification, or what?!
Of course, next year will bring an even better model. It's always the way. And yet if we continually waited for the best we'd never buy anything and where would the economy, not to mention all our hobbies, passions and productivity be if we didn't actually have any equipment to perform them with? We might as well be dead. Which we will be eventually, of course, as Keynes reminded us.
There. It's 7:07 on a brand new shiny Friday morning and I've already written another Paris chronicle. Highly satisfying, I can tell you. Which leaves me with the whole day to get on busily with putting off all manner of unpleasant chores until the weekend (or later) and of course regretting the fact that I should probably have waited for next year's Nikon - I've just seen a rumour report saying it's going to be awesome...
(Now, should I succumb to the terrible urge I have to publish immediately, or can I wait until this afternoon when the States are awake and I get twice as many hits... darn it, will this thing never end..?)
And why not...
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© 2012 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.
© 2012 Sab Will / Paris Set Me Free - Contact me directly for photo tours, interviews, exhibitions, etc.
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