Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Diamonds Are Bullshit

blog.priceonomics.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 774 posts

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#51

Post by chrischen »

cobrausn wrote: post #49

Sure, and we all know it. But from her perspective, you probably waste all kinds of time and money on other inane bullshit for yourself. So if you actually cared, you wouldn't mind spending a bit so she gets a shiny rock to wear around. Why shouldn't she get this one thing? Also, how is this any different from fashion? Both are nearly useless raw materials that have been transformed and shaped into something people w…

I've been to a clothes factory in China. Probably nowhere near as bad as conflict can be.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#52

Post by clicks »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #17

Maybe I'm spoiled as a nerdy (and interested in nerdy) gay guy, but I pity those in this thread saying that their fiancee wouldn't listen to reason about this. It slays me that "tradition" is so important to people that they will waste such vast amounts of money and prop up such a gross, violent industry in the face of reason.

My sister is still mad as hell at her husband for not having spent enough for their wedding (he spent about $25k), and I've heard her once or twice complain about the ring.

I'll occasionally take shots at my sister for this (because, well, she's my sister and she loves taking shots at me too so it's fair). But my God I don't dare challenge the issue of spending extravagantly on rings/weddings with another woman (I once did, it didn't go very nicely for me).

But... overtime here's how I've come to rationalize it: symbolism is a strong emotional asset. If it helps make the girl happy, then it's worth it -- because mental happiness is worth it; because mental health is a component of your overall state. And hey, afterall, I did spend $700 on my chair, $300 on my kinesis keyboard, $800 on my LCD monitor, etc. etc.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#53

Post by pbateman »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #17

Maybe I'm spoiled as a nerdy (and interested in nerdy) gay guy, but I pity those in this thread saying that their fiancee wouldn't listen to reason about this. It slays me that "tradition" is so important to people that they will waste such vast amounts of money and prop up such a gross, violent industry in the face of reason.

Agreed. It's also a massive red flag for the future of the relationship if you can't negotiate over something like this.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#55

Post by sliverstorm »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #17

Maybe I'm spoiled as a nerdy (and interested in nerdy) gay guy, but I pity those in this thread saying that their fiancee wouldn't listen to reason about this. It slays me that "tradition" is so important to people that they will waste such vast amounts of money and prop up such a gross, violent industry in the face of reason.

Nobody does it "for the sake of tradition". It is a web of expectations where the cost of bucking the expectations is great enough that buckling often is the more attractive option.

It is also a well-entrenched example of costly signaling [1] in humans [2]

(For the lazy, costly signaling basically says, a costly empty gesture is a strong indicator of mate quality, because only a high-quality mate can afford to waste lots of resources on an empty gesture)

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_theory#Costly_signal...

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_theory#Human_honest_...

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#56

Post by cobrausn »

chrischen wrote: post #51
cobrausn wrote: post #49

Sure, and we all know it. But from her perspective, you probably waste all kinds of time and money on other inane bullshit for yourself. So if you actually cared, you wouldn't mind spending a bit so she gets a shiny rock to wear around. Why shouldn't she get this one thing? Also, how is this any different from fashion? Both are nearly useless raw materials that have been transformed and shaped into something people w…

I've been to a clothes factory in China. Probably nowhere near as bad as conflict can be.

Probably, but that might have more to do with Africa (and what was done there) than diamonds.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#59

Post by fusiongyro »

drivebyacct2 wrote: post #17

Maybe I'm spoiled as a nerdy (and interested in nerdy) gay guy, but I pity those in this thread saying that their fiancee wouldn't listen to reason about this. It slays me that "tradition" is so important to people that they will waste such vast amounts of money and prop up such a gross, violent industry in the face of reason.

My wife and I didn't have a lot of money. She wanted an engagement ring and I wanted to get her one, but we weren't especially phased by the diamond cartel. Instead we had a ring made from a large pincushion citrine and two medium-sized peridots. The ring is huge, brightly colored, totally unique and extremely eye-catching, and cost me about $600, which was almost all for the gold setting and the labor. She gets compliments on it all the time. So I think things are loosening up, at least here in the southwest.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#60

Post by jpdoctor »

stephengillie wrote: post #42
jpdoctor wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The carbon is a proxy (which is missed in the article, among other things.) It's social signaling. Or to put it another way: How many $$ can your man throw away without incurring pauperhood?

So this becomes a social competition to see who can waste the most resources? It sounds like it has barbaric roots -- who can provide the most food / kill the biggest animal / lift the heaviest rock / travel the fastest / find the rarest material / pay someone else the most money to do so. You'll never find an end to the people who are willing to provide the same product for a higher price.

> So this becomes a social competition to see who can waste the most resources?

Slightly more subtle than that: Waste the resources without incurring financial hardship. That last part is important.

> It sounds like it has barbaric roots

Not unlike the mating ritual itself.

> You'll never find an end to the people who are willing to provide the same product for a higher price.

Again, it's more subtle: The social signal includes being able to discern and choose well among the competing alternatives.

Post reply on HN