4 ms·

Making the world a better place is very important to me. I once devised a test for people. It goes like this: Ask them when they are clean and in a white-coll

Making the world a better place is very important to me. I once devised a test for people. It goes like this: Ask them when they are clean and in a white-collar environment: You can spend 5 mintues working hard and getting dirty to magically get some random human $1 million worth of stuff they want/need. Let's say you need to carry bags of dirt from one place to another. Beacuse this is magic, you will never know who got that stuff, but you will know that someone somewhere got it. You can also spend 5 minutes carrying bags of drit the other way, and that will cause someone somewhere in the world to loose $1 million, or eveything they have if their net worth is lee than $1 million. Again, this does not affect inflation because magic. Would you (A) work to help someone, (B) refuse to do anything because it does not help you or (C) work to hurt someone. After they answer, ask What if you could work all day to help or hurt others. What would you do? I've found an amazing number of peple would work all day to hurt many people. To me, this explains the businesses that create artificial scarcity.

imoverclocked 3y ago
I was introduced to concept this by my ex-wife. Her claim was that, as a culture, her home country would rather see other people suffer than thrive themselves.
- steve_adams_86 3y ago
  Can I ask which country this is?
  - imoverclocked 3y ago
    Bulgaria
    - steve_adams_86 3y ago
      Interesting. This is somewhat in line with what people have told me about Serbia, Bosnia, and to a lesser degree Romania. I suppose parts of Asia fit the description as well, but seemingly for different reasons. I can’t know because I only have second hand information. It’s a common sentiment, though, so I have to wonder if it’s a broad cultural trend. If so, why? Or rather… Why not in my part of the world? Perhaps I’m naive and it’s actually typical in my culture as well.
      - imoverclocked 3y ago
        Serbia, Bosnia and Romania all have a lot in common with Bulgaria as I understand it. My ex-brother-in-law (also Bulgarian) visited Macedonia and was shocked to learn that he was actually speaking Macedonian his entire life. :) As they described it, the region was split up to avoid having too much power concentrated in one country. Each country claims to be the origin of certain products/foods/etc which overlaps with claims from others in the region. There is also some really tragic folk music in Bulgarian culture stemming from some pretty horrific historical situations. Things like fighting with the dead bodies of fallen comrades when you have nothing else to throw over a wall under siege. The music is as beautiful and tragic as you would imagine. I know there are plenty of people who want to watch the world burn where I live. Luckily, there seems to be enough people who don't share that trait to offset them. I tend to seek out people who are more positive in their interactions with the world.
        steve_adams_86 3y ago
        That’s really fascinating about the folk music. I understand there have been major losses of life in most countries in this part of the world, in some cases not so long ago. My adopted son’s biological dad lives in Serbia and I believe he lived through conflict during the early 90s. A staggering number of people died in that period. I’m fairly sure that living through something like that in my early life would have dramatically changed my outlook on life and my behaviour in society.
        imoverclocked 3y ago
        Oh, it definitely affects you. It even affects your gene expression and can get passed down several generations; People have biological traces of trauma that they didn’t experience first or second hand. My favorite curse is, “may you live in interesting times.” I’ve heard it ascribed to Jewish origins but the Wikipedia article mentions possible Chinese origins. In any case, many people initially take it as a complement or a blessing. It’s usually not :)
      - grujicd 3y ago
richardw 3y ago
I’m surprised people admitted they hurt others. Could you explain more? I assume everyone I know would choose to help given it’s 5 minutes? I think one big reason we’re in trouble is that people would rather have a small benefit for themselves and a corresponding larger loss for others. I feel it too. Something that means relatively little to me and a lot to someone else, but I (almost always) choose me. If you go the other way, you give up everything because there is infinite need. Everyone with less than you shows up. What’s weird is that we all want to be respected and loved, but those we’ve revered most have really worked for others. It’s so hard to emulate that. But it also hints at the fundamental value of a good business: generate your own wealth by delivering maximum value for others. Build something people want.

imoverclocked 3y ago

I was introduced to concept this by my ex-wife. Her claim was that, as a culture, her home country would rather see other people suffer than thrive themselves.

steve_adams_86 3y ago
Can I ask which country this is?
- imoverclocked 3y ago
  Bulgaria
  - steve_adams_86 3y ago
    Interesting. This is somewhat in line with what people have told me about Serbia, Bosnia, and to a lesser degree Romania. I suppose parts of Asia fit the description as well, but seemingly for different reasons. I can’t know because I only have second hand information. It’s a common sentiment, though, so I have to wonder if it’s a broad cultural trend. If so, why? Or rather… Why not in my part of the world? Perhaps I’m naive and it’s actually typical in my culture as well.
    - imoverclocked 3y ago
      Serbia, Bosnia and Romania all have a lot in common with Bulgaria as I understand it. My ex-brother-in-law (also Bulgarian) visited Macedonia and was shocked to learn that he was actually speaking Macedonian his entire life. :) As they described it, the region was split up to avoid having too much power concentrated in one country. Each country claims to be the origin of certain products/foods/etc which overlaps with claims from others in the region. There is also some really tragic folk music in Bulgarian culture stemming from some pretty horrific historical situations. Things like fighting with the dead bodies of fallen comrades when you have nothing else to throw over a wall under siege. The music is as beautiful and tragic as you would imagine. I know there are plenty of people who want to watch the world burn where I live. Luckily, there seems to be enough people who don't share that trait to offset them. I tend to seek out people who are more positive in their interactions with the world.
      - steve_adams_86 3y ago
        That’s really fascinating about the folk music. I understand there have been major losses of life in most countries in this part of the world, in some cases not so long ago. My adopted son’s biological dad lives in Serbia and I believe he lived through conflict during the early 90s. A staggering number of people died in that period. I’m fairly sure that living through something like that in my early life would have dramatically changed my outlook on life and my behaviour in society.
        imoverclocked 3y ago
        Oh, it definitely affects you. It even affects your gene expression and can get passed down several generations; People have biological traces of trauma that they didn’t experience first or second hand. My favorite curse is, “may you live in interesting times.” I’ve heard it ascribed to Jewish origins but the Wikipedia article mentions possible Chinese origins. In any case, many people initially take it as a complement or a blessing. It’s usually not :)
    - grujicd 3y ago

richardw 3y ago

I’m surprised people admitted they hurt others. Could you explain more? I assume everyone I know would choose to help given it’s 5 minutes? I think one big reason we’re in trouble is that people would rather have a small benefit for themselves and a corresponding larger loss for others. I feel it too. Something that means relatively little to me and a lot to someone else, but I (almost always) choose me. If you go the other way, you give up everything because there is infinite need. Everyone with less than you shows up. What’s weird is that we all want to be respected and loved, but those we’ve revered most have really worked for others. It’s so hard to emulate that. But it also hints at the fundamental value of a good business: generate your own wealth by delivering maximum value for others. Build something people want.