The Diderot Effect

-


Came across the term Diderot Effect recently.  This usually describes the situation where the purchase of one item results in the need to purchase other items.  It is also used to describe other situations but I will not discuss those here.

Illustration 1:

When we buy a car, there are many other stuffs that come along, like petrol, toll charges, parking fees, insurance, maintenance, loan interest, the forever car replacement down the road, just to name a few.  A big part of our money will go to the car. 

Illustration 2:

We bought a new branded wallet.  Someone commented that we have good taste.  We felt good, and started to buy other items of the same brand, like cuff links, ties, belt, etc.  These are money that we could have saved, because we did not need to buy those in the first place.  

Illustration 3:

You bought your nephew a pet dog for his birthday.  Now his parents need to fork out money to buy pet food, for pet grooming and so on.  The intention is good, but the expenditure that tagged along can be daunting for some.

Not saying that we should not buy a car or a gift for someone.  But do think through before doing, especially now with this knowledge of Diderot Effect.  It is important to save enough for our golden years.

(Diderot - pronounced Dih Duh Roh)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Practicality

-
Image
One of my former Principals called me a "practical" person, in a good way.  She was telling the rest that to be effective, it is not about doing a lot of things, but doing the right things.  For me, I guess it is more about using logic to help in my decision making. I am not very certain how a practical person is being defined, because it is not likely for a person to be 100% practical. A good match, in my opinion, would be being practical but yet flexible enough to know how to make good decisions fast. The following points are put together after analysing my thinking and choice of actions.  Other practical persons may do things slightly differently. 1.  Sticking to the objective.  When I make decisions, it is heavily dependent on how likely it will achieve the objective of the task.  Many people, when they start brainstorming, may come up with ideas that stray further away from the objective. And in meetings, I am usually the one who voice this out and bri...
Read more

Difference between a Quiz and a Survey

-
Image
I asked a group of students in a group chat :"Does any of you use any other chat apps besides Whatsapp?  If yes, what are they?" One person replied :"Telegram".  And no one else responded after that.  When I asked why no one else replied, a few said "cos same, telegram". So, this blog is to to talk about the difference between a quiz and a survey, according to my humble understanding. A quiz is likely to be one that has a fixed answer, or a fixed set of answers.  For example, if someone asked :"What is 1+1?".  There is no need to respond if the person who responded earlier gave the correct answer.  We can, of course, say the same answer or give another answer if we think the answer given was incorrect.  In this case, it doesn't matter how many people respond to the quiz (but of course, a teacher will want more students to try to answer). On the other hand, a survey requires as many people to respond as possible, because the sample group size ...
Read more

Forgive Others Whenever We Can

-
Image
  Most Chinese would know the phrase 得饶人处且饶人, which means, to forgive others whenever we can. This has been a very useful strategy for the Chinese.  Because when we force someone into a corner, we may trigger his need and urgency to fight back. This can then put us into a less advantageous position. There is another saying 狗急跳墙 : When a dog panics, it can jump over a wall. Hence, do not press the super-power button on your enemy. But, many Chinese would not know the full context of the former phrase.  It came from a high priest who gained enlightenment by spending many years playing the Chinese Go, and finally understanding the deeper meaning in it. 烂柯真诀妙通神 一局曾经几度春 自出洞来无敌手 得饶人处且饶人 Literal translation:  The game of Chinese Go is intriguing. One could spend a few years on a game. Never met a stronger opponent after coming out from the cave (meditation/enlightenment). Forgive others whenever we can.  Referring to the context from "never met a stronger opponent..."....
Read more