Row, row, row your boat – about the law of comparative advantage
According to the economic law of comparative advantage, both parties are better off economically if they focus on their advantage and trade off for everything else. For example, if Adam can make 4 widgets/hour or 3 widgets/hour while Bob can make 1 widget/hour but 2 widgets/hour, then Adam should focus only on making widgets, while Bob should focus on making widgets. Adam can then obtain his tools by trading his tools with Bob and vice versa. This is the case even when Adam is faster at making tools than Bob.
That’s why we buy cheap clothes and cars from far away countries and make advanced technology, movies, and weapons here. On an individual basis, this is also why a person might for example work as a plumber while hiring a tax preparer, electrician, etc. for other necessities.
Now, last Sunday, DW and I went fishing. DW had gotten a fishing rod the day before so we headed to the nearest park/lake and rented a row boat. We then spent a few hours where I frantically tried to keep a bad canoe with mismatched oars from washing ashore while DW frantically tried to avoid losing the bait in the weeds (and trees).
Oh my God! Why didn’t we adhere to the law of comparative advantage and indirectly crew a professional trawler who would certainly be able to catch fish much cheaper than we would?
? Because we had fun! Yes, that’s right, we had fun. DW enjoyed trying to catch a fish, learning how to operate a spinning reel from a boat (first time in twenty years) and enjoyed paddling the boat.
Factor in the opportunity cost, the cost of boat rentals, the cost of fishing rods and fishing permits, and the fact that we didn’t catch anything.
Life is not just about maximizing economic profit and achieving measurable goals. It’s about engaging with the world around us. It just so happened that a rowing boat was the cheapest option available. The lady in charge seemed a bit surprised that we went to the rowing boat and she had a slight ‘Are you crazy?’ expression on her face. Same reaction from the man on the sidewalk
However, I did not choose the rowing boat because it was cheap. I chose it because I could. It wasn’t hard to learn. Even with one oar longer than the other and the other turned in the wrong direction by 30 degrees, I eventually pulled the “broken” oar a little harder and moved the boat. And now I know what it’s like to actually move a boat on the lake.
He even came out in his motorboat to offer to tow us back as we had to go about 1.5 miles against the wind driven current. We refused. Death before shame!
😛
I guess the nuts in the rowboat were a bit of a curiosity on a lake full of motor boats and their ice coolers, but what do they know? It is very likely that they did not care much about the physical aspect of boating and wanted to focus on fishing. It is also possible that they were not physically able to row. (I must have been pulling the oars almost continuously for two hours).
Never stop exploring. If you’re not constantly pushing yourself, you’re living a numb life.
Dean Karnazes
I’d rather have the full experience though. As far as exploring goes, I absolutely hate being a tourist. Tourism is a very passive way to experience life. Usually pre-packaged. go there. Look at that. all of this. Take the tour. Participate in such-and-such activity. Bah nonsense! This is the shrink-wrapped version. This does not mean living life to the fullest. Notice how the natives never do what tourists do no matter where they go.
I get the same feeling from traveling by plane, the house I live in, driving a car, having a job, watching TV,… In fact, modern life is very much like pre-packaged tourism. Few of them are real and most of them have been manufactured and pre-made by relatively distinguished experts. It may be economically efficient, but I think a lot of what it means to be human has been lost.
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, slaughter a pig, command a ship, design a building, write a poem, balance accounts, build a wall, nail a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, and give orders. He orders, cooperates, acts alone, solves equations, analyzes a new problem, throws manure, programs a computer, cooks a delicious meal, fights efficiently, dies bravely. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein
That’s why I chose a rowing boat. That’s why I pay my taxes (as much as possible). That’s why I prefer walking instead of taking a car. This is why I refuse to rely on one specialized job to make up for the shortage of most other skills even though it is relatively economically disadvantageous.
In economic terms, this means that Heinlein’s insects function and spend accordingly as part of a larger economic system or hive. On the other hand, humans in Heinlein’s theory are significantly more self-reliant, and thus can get the same results without paying nearly the same amount.
What’s the point of working your whole life when you only do/produce one thing and consume everything else? This might maximize GDP, income, net worth…but I don’t think that’s the essence of life.
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