Diamonds Are Bullshit

Post by WildUtah » Wed, Mar 20, 2013, 4:29 AM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #259

YZF wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Pregnancy and childbirth is a barbaric process Seriously? I guess this just shows one aspect of how screwed up our modern society is.

Have you ever been pregnant or had a child? It's 9 months of misery punctuated by 12 hours of stress and agony, relieved only by the epidural. That's followed by weeks of pain and bleeding, and major bodily changes of various degrees of permanence (stretched out abdominal muscles, stretched out hips). Oh, and post-partum depression. And that's if you're lucky. Childbirth can last way longer than 12 hours, it can invo…

Post by robrenaud » Wed, Mar 20, 2013, 4:34 AM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #200

guylhem wrote: post #178

I see people talking about various things like the (1) (2) (3) arguments for a women to evaluate a man : (1) is the ability to provide; 2) is the willingness to forgo other things (opportunity costs to talk economics) (3) "is demonstrating to the woman's peers her husband's social standing." (signalling) Raynier posted this deep down in a reply which might be lost to you if you don't read all the comments. It would b…

Its' really hard to live life stepping on eggshells worrying about injustices to other people. At the end of the day, I bet most people on this thread drive, and there is very little else that humans do that does more violence to the environment and to other humans than the use of fossil fuels. It goes far beyond that. If you're an American, your comfortable life exists because of the American government's willingnes…

Post by zecho » Wed, Mar 20, 2013, 4:35 AM UTC

spindritf wrote: post #320

wutbrodo wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt the point is to demonstrate financial security: Spending three months' salary on a single ring would seem to indicate financial irresponsibility more than financial security (unless it's like a rebate and you sell the ring once you're married? /s). I'm inclined to agree that you're right about the price being the point. I think it has more to do with "You're worth it to me". I still think it's utter bollocks.

> I doubt the point is to demonstrate financial security: Spending three months' salary on a single ring would seem to indicate financial irresponsibility more than financial security "Wasting" resources is one of the ways to make sure that the signal (of fitness -- financial security for example) is honest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handicap_principle

Post by robotresearcher » Wed, Mar 20, 2013, 4:37 AM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #304

maratd wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> so they just leave De Beers to run around gouging consumers That's kind of missing the point. If diamonds were 5 bucks a piece, women would no longer be interested in receiving rings bejeweled by them. A woman wants a man who is financially secure. If you can't afford a shiny rock, you can't afford what's coming after it either, so there's no point.

It doesn't have anything to do with financial security. Look, if your man is spending three months worth of salary on a piece of shiny rock, he is exercising poor financial judgment and that is a signal against future financial security. Women want diamonds not because of any symbolic reasons ("Diamonds are forever!") but because of reasons that are much more practical: they want to be able to show off the diamonds t…

Post by super-serial » Wed, Mar 20, 2013, 4:38 AM UTC

xymostech wrote: post #336

super-serial wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Sexism" has become a dirty word. There's nothing wrong with thinking women and men are wired differently. There have been studies on chimpanzees showing that female chimps choose girly toys (dolls etc), and male chimps choose male toys (weapons, trucks etc) without any outside influence. Yet people act like the human species is different. They believe people only become who they are because of indoctrination into th…

> There's nothing wrong with thinking women and men are wired differently. And nobody is disagreeing with you. It is sexist to say "women are more influenced by marketing" when they are not . If men and women are influenced the same, then making a statement about the difference between them is being sexist. So, if someone can actually provide some data that shows whether or not women are more influenced than men, ins…