The Dresden Files > DF Spoilers

Any news on Peace Talks

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Dina:

--- Quote from: morriswalters on December 23, 2019, 12:15:25 AM ---Every man, women and child should be able to do that calculation, it's an indictment of educational sytems that they can't. :'( >:(
Sorry for the divergence.

--- End quote ---
Sometimes it is difficult, you need to do 453.2/27, for instance. So the law helps.

g33k:

--- Quote from: morriswalters on December 23, 2019, 12:15:25 AM ---... Every man, women and child should be able to do that calculation, it's an indictment of educational sytems that they can't.
--- End quote ---

--- Quote from: Bad Alias on December 23, 2019, 12:26:35 AM --- It's not so easy to figure out when one product is in grams and one is in ounces. I do use a calculator to figure it out when the grocery store doesn't supply the answer.
--- End quote ---

We get to some interesting time/value equations... can the little store AFFORD to calculate ALL the prices to usable standards?  I've noted some comparable products measure by weight, others by volume (very annoying!).  Does doing that add an onerous expense, one that raises their costs (yet again, yet higher) above the Big Stores (who can spread the cost across a MUCH higher volume)?

And for the consumer who DIY's the answer...  How long to find the "best" few options (two products? three?  more?), snd calculate all the different prices... vs. the amount saved?  Was it "worth" the time/$ ?

FWIW... I am another of those who will often open a calculator as a main way of deciding between two similar products.

And I too apologize for the digression.

Dina:
It may be complicated. Perhaps you can easily compare two or three products to choose the cheaper one, but there is another problem, sometimes you need to take in consideration the volume (or weight) you are buying. It's the cheapest option the more practical? If it is a package too large perhaps it is difficult to find a good place in your kitchen and you have to store it in an uncomfortable place for a long time. On the other hand if the package is too small, you will get out of it too soon, and need to spend time (and sometimes money) going to the store too often.

I believe most of us have some of all that someplace in our mind, so when we chose to buy something sometimes it seems emotional but it is rational.

Yuillegan:
Morris, Daniel Kahneman whilst being a heavy weight in his field, is not the only authority. Indeed, Gerd Gergerenzer (his most prominent critic) has argued strongly that Kahneman treats people as being basically incapable of making the best choice for themselves, which Gergerenzer argues isn't actually the case. Kahneman even admitted he relied too heavily on weak studies in some areas of his book (which was a very gracious thing to do when confronted with a criticism of your life's work).

I have always thought that shops be they supermarkets or general stores or anything in between, should provide a price in weight. And many do in many countries, as Dina says it is often the law. People should be able to do their own calculations too, but then again at the end of the day customers just want a good value proposition. Each of us might have a different idea of what that is, but the more information available then the easier that is for consumers to make their own choice, rather than a guided one.

But this is all way off topic. Perhaps we should get back to discussing Peace Talks.

For those that are interested I will be starting a thread in the Bar for anyone who wishes to discuss this all further.  :)

Link: https://www.paranetonline.com/index.php/topic,53300.0.html

Arjan:
Try to make a rational decision about toilet rolls. The price per package tells you nothing and the price per roll is useless. You need the price per sheet but then some sheets have three layers and other sheets....

And if you do not have enough layers you will fold them so you need twice the number of sheets. And then we do not even talk about the softness and aestethic considerations. Some are just too ugly...

Really a rational decision is nearly impossible and then we do not even consider the time involved in making it.

A lot of economical decisions are emotionally driven because emotions are the usual shortcut for these things.   

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