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Diamonds Are Bullshit

blog.priceonomics.com

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641–650 of 774 posts

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#641

Post by gnaritas »

eli wrote: post #286
wutbrodo wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since when does any standard of evidence include "...tied to your finger"?

I'm not quite following you. A diamond ring communicates to your peers and acquaintances that you have money. A bank statement only does that if you go around showing it to people.

A big diamond ring communicates to your intelligent peers that you're stupid, shallow, insecure, and require peer approval to feel good about yourself. It says you wasted money on a worthless rock so your shallow friends will envy you; it's sad.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#642

Post by overgryphon »

gkoberger wrote: post #3

Logically and financially, sure... but try telling your fiancée-to-be that.

Let me guess, all of these men who are so principled as to refuse to buy diamonds still conveniently want their fiancé to look good. To dress nicely, not be overweight, shiny hair, nice skin. This requires some money, time, and effort.

Heels will damage her feet over the long run, clothes are over priced and expensive, the makeup industry causes all sorts of evil just like diamonds. But you'll want her to look good the way your culture defines it, because it signals your value socially.

But diamonds are horrible and women are selfish and irrational for wanting them.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#643

Post by RougeFemme »

Thrall wrote: post #582
jrmg wrote: post #455

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As we found out when looking for a ring, there is (perhaps manufactured) superstitious social stigma attached to using a used engagement ring. How do you know it's not from a failed marriage? Many jewelers were confused and incredulous when we asked about one. After a certain age is reached though, the stigma seems to go away somewhat. We got a 'vintage' ring (about 100 years old) in the end - but they're hard to fin…

> Many jewelers were confused and incredulous when we asked about one. Bear in mind that it is in the jeweller's interest to perpetuate such superstitions as it means they can persuade many customers to buy a new ring instead. Buying a diamonds as a romantic gesture, the buyer is vulnerable for two reasons: 1) They're unlikely to have much experience of buying jewellery; for many, this is the only occasion. 2) They p…

Agreed. I accompanied my fiance when he shopped for my ring and most salespeople tried to tell both of us that we were wrong. We ended up getting it from a catalog.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#644

Post by geezer »

rayiner wrote: post #228
erikpukinskis wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Okay how do you distribute child-bearing according to participant interest? Adoption. > How do you distribute child-rearing according to participant interest, bearing in mind that an infant just wants to suck on a breast and doesn't care about your views on gender roles. There are some limits to what can be shared. I advocate going right up to that line. A woman who wants to raise a baby at some point has to make t…

> Adoption. The IQ of children is highly correlated with the IQ of parents. Adoption is not, for educated couples, an alternative to having their own children. > A woman who wants to raise a baby at some point has to make tough choices about formula, breast pumping, bonding, and her other priorities in life. You can make things as equal as possible, but no more. My wife and I have almost identical educational backgro…

> The IQ of children is highly correlated with the IQ of parents

There is plenty of research to suggest that socio-economic (SES) status is the driving factor behind IQ, not genetics. An adopted child's IQ will tend to be higher if adopting parents have high SES

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#645

Post by likeclockwork »

stephengillie wrote: post #245
michaelt wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It looks like the guy is a graduate from Stanford's business school... and is the co-founder of Pricenomics. What the heck. I used to make that mistake - or what I assume was the mistake, which now seems to have been corrected. Many guides to using apostrophes [1,2,3,4] say they can be used for contractions (the dog's outside) and to indicate possession (the dog's ball) - Why shouldn't something possessed by "it" use…

I hadn't heard that grouping, which actually makes a lot of sense. A teacher taught me a simpler rule: "It's" normally has an apostrophe, while most words don't. So instead of adding a apostrophe to show possession, we remove it. Basically we're toggling the apostrophe state. Or..."it's" always results in a NOT output when compared to other outputs.

"its" is equivalent to his and hers, neither of which have apostrophes.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#646

Post by RougeFemme »

boyter wrote: post #321
enraged_camel wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

The social status is changing I think. I commented on this in some other Diamond discussion thread but I have noticed an increase in people my age group (Gen Y) having engagement/wedding rings with other stones. Purely anecdotal but it seems to be a trend in my group of friends at least. For example my wife has a Sapphire ring (yes I know Sapphires can be made at any size artificially) and so does my brothers. A clos…

I'm older than Gen Y and I have a sapphire ring. It's my birthstone and I always loved it.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#647

Post by geezer »

rayiner wrote: post #115
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.

It irks me a little bit that the issue is painted as one of "reason" versus lack thereof. There is a rationality in adhering to social convention. My wife is a diamond nerd, as well as one of the most rational people you'll ever meet, and she'd explain it this way: the diamond is a test that serves various useful purposes from the perspective of the woman: 1) It demonstrates the man's ability to provide; 2) It demons…

> It is totally rational for a woman to ask: "I'm willing to give up all this, what are you willing to do?"

Giving up sex with other women.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#648

Post by RougeFemme »

gbog wrote: post #598
enraged_camel wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

You're wrong. Jewelry is the historical way to store wealth. Have some extra you want to keep for harder times? Convert it to gold and hang it on your wife's ears. Many other things we take for granted now are storage: cheese, wine, ham, jam are all efficient ways to store food. So giving a diamond to your wife is just a supplemental reserve of wealth. Read only two books about people of the past, you'll see many sto…

But don't they always sell at a loss? Yes, it beats a blank, but still, isn't it a depreciating asset? Back then, they didn't have the investment vehicles that we have today.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#649

Post by RougeFemme »

btilly wrote: post #377
lectrick wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if I bought a nominal ring and instead threw the rest of the money (and then some) at a REALLY awesome vacation for us?

You have to find the right woman. A bit over 23 years ago I had a wedding which - including wedding bands - was under $200. I'm still married to her. We're both glad we didn't go into debt to get married...

Our wedding bands totalled $198. The deli platter took use over $200.

Re: Diamonds Are Bullshit

#650

Post by bitwize »

Spending lots of money on things of little value means you've got the money to spend. Don't underestimate how attractive this is to women.

Even if everybody knew diamonds were BS, they'd still be the premier engagement ring jewel. Nothing says "I love you" like throwing $6000 out the window like it was nothing at all.

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