3 ms·

> some miniature detail is not 100% in their otherwise perfect and seemingly challenge-free lives You could look at this as spoiled, or you could see it as som

> some miniature detail is not 100% in their otherwise perfect and seemingly challenge-free lives You could look at this as spoiled, or you could see it as someone who has an eye for detail. I don't know the tone they used, but I can imagine this was more like a Seinfeldesque observation of life thana legitimate gripe. People with money can definitely live fulfilling and challenging lives. Arnold Schwarzenegger famously said that he works out in part because a tremendous physique cannot be bought, you must work for it every day, so it's a sign of character. You could say the same about musical or sports skill, handcrafted items, or the love of your friends and family.

TeMPOraL 3y ago
> You could look at this as spoiled, or you could see it as someone who has an eye for detail. I don't know the tone they used, but I can imagine this was more like a Seinfeldesque observation of life thana legitimate gripe. I tend to look at it like this: humans have a certain base capacity for worrying - for noticing and suffering problems - that's independent of their situations and the nature of problems themselves. Solving problems and improving our lives doesn't reduce worrying, as much as changes the nature of it. The poor person sees the rich person complaining, and thinks to themselves those are all "first world problems", really nothing to be worked up about. But should said poor person work their way up and become wealthy, they may discover they're suddenly preoccupied by those same problems they used to dismiss as irrelevant. There's also something to be said for being in vs. out of a certain situations. As a young adult, there ware many weird things I saw older adults worry about - or perhaps make choices based on (what I thought were) weird ethical priorities. Couple years later, with a spouse and two small kids, I find myself worrying about those same weird things, and making similar ethical choices, which suddenly feel entirely justified once you're responsible for and worrying about the physical and mental well-being of a small human under your care. But yes, on top of that, there's also "having an eye for detail", varying degree of tolerance for minor annoyances, etc. - whole range, up to and including OCD.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  > I tend to look at it like this: humans have a certain base capacity for worrying I heard someone say it this way once: everyone has a problem bucket. With some people, it holds a pint. With others, it holds a gallon. But whatever its size, it's always full.
  - TeMPOraL 3y ago
    Nice one, I'm saving it, thank you!
paulryanrogers 3y ago
Humans may have some minimum preoccupation with things that could be better. What makes it harder for those at the bottom is they have so few options or ways to resolve those things, and the challenges they face of often objectively much more serious. So a rich person can consider poorer perspectives and be thankful or even motivated to help others. A poor person looking up often cannot help even if they could sympathize.
boondoggle16 3y ago
Just a tangential note, but I find this use of "Seinfeldesque" fascinating. The characters in Seinfeld are based on an old stereotype, the kvetcher. At this point, do people even know what tropes Seinfeld is based on? https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeinfeldIsUnfunny https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeinfeldIsUnfunn...
antisthenes 3y ago
> Arnold Schwarzenegger famously said that he works out in part because a tremendous physique cannot be bought, you must work for it every day, so it's a sign of character. It is kind of a half-truth. A physique can definitely be bought with steroid therapy, free time to exercise as much as you want, great nutrition and being born to parents with good genetics who are loving and caring (height and good body proportions are a proxy for strength) But compared to say, buying a fancy car or house (other status items), a physique will require comparatively more effort.
- darkerside 3y ago
  Money can make anything easier and more possible, but I doubt even steroids will give you a tremendous physique without a ton of hard work. I don't know enough about steroids to be sure, so I'd be interested to be corrected.

TeMPOraL 3y ago

> You could look at this as spoiled, or you could see it as someone who has an eye for detail. I don't know the tone they used, but I can imagine this was more like a Seinfeldesque observation of life thana legitimate gripe. I tend to look at it like this: humans have a certain base capacity for worrying - for noticing and suffering problems - that's independent of their situations and the nature of problems themselves. Solving problems and improving our lives doesn't reduce worrying, as much as changes the nature of it. The poor person sees the rich person complaining, and thinks to themselves those are all "first world problems", really nothing to be worked up about. But should said poor person work their way up and become wealthy, they may discover they're suddenly preoccupied by those same problems they used to dismiss as irrelevant. There's also something to be said for being in vs. out of a certain situations. As a young adult, there ware many weird things I saw older adults worry about - or perhaps make choices based on (what I thought were) weird ethical priorities. Couple years later, with a spouse and two small kids, I find myself worrying about those same weird things, and making similar ethical choices, which suddenly feel entirely justified once you're responsible for and worrying about the physical and mental well-being of a small human under your care. But yes, on top of that, there's also "having an eye for detail", varying degree of tolerance for minor annoyances, etc. - whole range, up to and including OCD.

JohnFen 3y ago
> I tend to look at it like this: humans have a certain base capacity for worrying I heard someone say it this way once: everyone has a problem bucket. With some people, it holds a pint. With others, it holds a gallon. But whatever its size, it's always full.
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  Nice one, I'm saving it, thank you!

paulryanrogers 3y ago

Humans may have some minimum preoccupation with things that could be better. What makes it harder for those at the bottom is they have so few options or ways to resolve those things, and the challenges they face of often objectively much more serious. So a rich person can consider poorer perspectives and be thankful or even motivated to help others. A poor person looking up often cannot help even if they could sympathize.

boondoggle16 3y ago

Just a tangential note, but I find this use of "Seinfeldesque" fascinating. The characters in Seinfeld are based on an old stereotype, the kvetcher. At this point, do people even know what tropes Seinfeld is based on? https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeinfeldIsUnfunny https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SeinfeldIsUnfunn...

antisthenes 3y ago

> Arnold Schwarzenegger famously said that he works out in part because a tremendous physique cannot be bought, you must work for it every day, so it's a sign of character. It is kind of a half-truth. A physique can definitely be bought with steroid therapy, free time to exercise as much as you want, great nutrition and being born to parents with good genetics who are loving and caring (height and good body proportions are a proxy for strength) But compared to say, buying a fancy car or house (other status items), a physique will require comparatively more effort.

darkerside 3y ago
Money can make anything easier and more possible, but I doubt even steroids will give you a tremendous physique without a ton of hard work. I don't know enough about steroids to be sure, so I'd be interested to be corrected.