4 ms·

Tyler Cowen has an interesting perspective on giving books as gifts: https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2018/09/hesitate-give-books-gifts.html ht

• war1025 6y ago
  That post seems to be referring more to donating used books rather than buying a book for someone as a gift. Seems like a different topic entirely to me, but maybe I'm missing something.
• dbspin 6y ago
  This is quite frankly ludicrous, and speaks to an unintentionally humorous pomposity. It's quite literally impossible to estimate the potential utility of another persons leisure time. But part of the joy of gift giving is trying to figure out what they might enjoy. Just as part of the social game of gifting is to see what others think you might like. It's a way of opening up to new experiences granted by people who know you. Ideally scaffolding perspectives and pleasures that appeal but were outside what you'd normally enjoy. An unread book can always be regifted, and it takes a sociopath to regard a gifted book as an insult. Sure, if your goal is to maximise the utility of every moment algorithmically, this might seem wasteful. But you're also very likely not any fun at all, and have few people to gift.