3 ms·

> pre-wired to be biased towards the short-term. do you mean toward self-preservation?

• bumby 7y ago
  No, I meant we are biased towards present value rather than future value. I think some of Daniel Kahneman's work has tried to quantify how much higher value the future proposition needs to be before they are equally weighted preferences. For example, if I give you the choice of $1 today or $1.20 next week, most people take the 'today' choice even though it's objectively worth less. There's a tipping point though when the value of future propositions become more favored. More to the point of the discussion, how much quality of life today will people be willing to sacrifice for an abstract idea of quality of life (particularly for somebody else) in the future?
  • user5994461 7y ago
    It's not a bias. What are the odds that you actually show up next week and remember that you owe me money? Pretty low. Better take the $1 now.
    • bumby 7y ago
      It actually is a bias, I just probably didn't do the concept justice in explaining it. https://www.behavioraleconomics.com/resources/mini-encyclopedia-of-be/present-bias/ https://www.behavioraleconomics.com/resources/mini-encyclope... I think what you're referring to is more akin to uncertainty risk.