Being poor changes your thinking about everything

I find the underlying behavioral economics fascinating - here's a good rundown: "Why Can’t More Poor People Escape Poverty?" http://www.newrepublic.com/article/environment-energy/89377/...

Re: Being poor changes your thinking about everything

#4

Post by sandesh247 » Fri, Sep 13, 2013, 10:22 PM UTC

teddyh wrote: post #2

I'm very much reminded of these: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-things-nobody-tells-you-about-... http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-5-stupidest-habits-you-devel... http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-things-politicians-will-never-... Especially the last one. EDIT: Fixed last link

That's a distressing read.

The first and the third links are the same - did you mean to post only two?

Re: Being poor changes your thinking about everything

#5

Post by AsymetricCom » Fri, Sep 13, 2013, 10:31 PM UTC

I get the feeling that our friends in marketing are already well aware of this type of psychology.

Re: Being poor changes your thinking about everything

#6

Post by teddyh » Fri, Sep 13, 2013, 10:33 PM UTC

sandesh247 wrote: post #4

teddyh wrote: post #2

I'm very much reminded of these: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-things-nobody-tells-you-about-... http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-5-stupidest-habits-you-devel... http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-things-politicians-will-never-... Especially the last one. EDIT: Fixed last link

That's a distressing read. The first and the third links are the same - did you mean to post only two?

Fixed, thanks. (I meant to post three links, but I mistakenly posted one of the links twice instead.)

Re: Being poor changes your thinking about everything

#7

Post by jalayir » Fri, Sep 13, 2013, 10:40 PM UTC

I've noticed this where I come from in India, in the feudal badlands of Awadh. We have a saying, "You think like a peasant". It means you lead a frightened existence, and you're completely risk-averse. The answer is a gradual gentrification of the populace accompanying industrialization, as Germany has achieved over the past hundred years. One aspect of gentrification is that the populace acquires a tremendous respect of and desire for education for learning's sake. This is rare in most countries, and it is the one thing about German culture that really stands out.

Re: Being poor changes your thinking about everything

#8

Post by jloughry » Fri, Sep 13, 2013, 10:45 PM UTC

From the article:

'Imagine how bad our PhD student theses would be if we said, "It's year two. Course work is done. Come back in three years with a thesis, and if you want you could always come and ask me questions, but otherwise that's it. You're off." Of course it would be awful. That’s just too distant a deadline.'

'You realize you're describing the experience of 30 percent of all graduate students in the United States.'

Ouch. That's just painful.

Re: Being poor changes your thinking about everything

#9

Post by alan_cx » Fri, Sep 13, 2013, 10:46 PM UTC

And being rich doesn't?

Is it the poor who have power to change things, or the rich?

Which is the bigger group? The poor or the rich?

If it is the poor, then isn't it relatively the rich who think differently?

Re: Being poor changes your thinking about everything

#10

Post by narrator » Fri, Sep 13, 2013, 10:46 PM UTC

teddyh wrote: post #2

I'm very much reminded of these: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-things-nobody-tells-you-about-... http://www.cracked.com/blog/the-5-stupidest-habits-you-devel... http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-things-politicians-will-never-... Especially the last one. EDIT: Fixed last link

What I keep thinking when I read these is if poor one should live with a large number of roommates you trust and share expenses and pitch in to help each other in an emergency. This in how people survive in developing countries. Something has collapsed in America though and everyone HAS to live by themselves and can't seem to trust anybody else.