7 ms·
Conspicuous consumption is the perennial vice of our species. Pyramids, Cathedrals, fast cars, diamond jewelry, fancy suits, and now iPads and iPhones. I swear
by norea-armozel 11y ago
Conspicuous consumption is the perennial vice of our species. Pyramids, Cathedrals, fast cars, diamond jewelry, fancy suits, and now iPads and iPhones. I swear as much effort goes into these things I think we could've at least solved the problem of starvation by now.
- s_q_b 11y agoI've often thought conspicuous consumption is largely just a message to the world of one's fitness as a mate. If so, sexual selection produces some very interesting and complex but functionally "useless" objects.
- norea-armozel 11y agoI think there's plenty of ways to signal you're a good provider or good in bed without throwing the entire viability of both into money pits of useless junk. It just takes more skull sweat to figure that out on a case-by-case basis.
- s_q_b 11y agoSure, but now you're just showcasing a different skill set that has high survival utility, namely cognitive ability. My hypothesis is that complex cognitive activities are one way humans measure fitness as a mate. Conspicuous consumption implies, "Hey, not only was I able to acquire all of this shiny stuff, I have so much I can afford to use it on useless things."