> Maybe it's not even possible for extremely intelligent, relatively rational people, to adopt the mindset of people who (by choice, culture, or means well outs

> Maybe it's not even possible for extremely intelligent, relatively rational people, to adopt the mindset of people who (by choice, culture, or means well outside their control) live more emotional, instinctual lives. It sounds very condescending to describe people with a different cost function to optimize than yours as irrational and instinctual. The whole point of the article is that, for some people, not moving away when the rent is high is rational, in spite of the obvious drawbacks (and that's assuming it's feasible - which, for many, it is not). >I made such a dumb long post because I want to be challenged on this. If you take the time to reply with why you disagree with me I will be very grateful. OK, first step: do you realize that "irrational reason" is, literally, an oxymoron?[1][2] There is no such thing as irrational reason, by the very definition of the words. There are, however, reasons that you do not understand. Maybe, as you said, it's a problem with empathy. Not to say that there is no irrational behavior - people do irrational things. It's just that when we are talking about system patterns - like people not moving out of places they can barely afford - often, there are good reasons why it makes sense for them. When you see something that looks irrational, it's important to assume ignorance on your part. Otherwise, you won't find out the rationale! Case in point: you might think that it's irrational for poor people - especially, say, pimps in a poor neighborhood - to buy a lot of gold jewellery instead of investing in something worthwhile. But then you find out that in their life, it is a very worthwhile investment[3] TL;DR: never assume something is without reason; assume there is one - and you'll often find it. [1]https://www.etymonline.com/word/irrational https://www.etymonline.com/word/irrational [2]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxymoron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxymoron [3]https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/2szqe9/til_pimps_wear_lots_of_gold_jewelry_bought_at/ https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/2szqe9/til_p...