Rational RevolutionEmpowering the man’s

primary virtue: Rationality

Define RationalityAyn Rand Quotes

Why the Rat Race?

Social RecognitionWhat Other People Think of us

What is the guide for rationality?

• Estimating the value (the units of happiness that brings) of seeking something.

• Effort required to obtain that something.

Estimating the value of seeking something.

• Massive errors in making comparisons

• One condition is MASSIVELY different from the other.

• Ex. Lottery ticket winner vs paralytic person

Estimating the value of seeking something.

• “I am the happiest man alive. I have that in me that can convert poverty to riches, adversity to prosperity, and I am more invulnerable than Achilles; Fortune hath not one place to hit me.”

Thomas Browne

Seeking Social Acceptance

• Succumbing to peer pressure

Stephen Covey in 7 Habits

• Begin with an End in Mind• First Things First

Why we make errors in assessing value?

• Win looks VERY VERY good due to media and social acceptance factor?

• Do you post on FB a lot to get a lot of likes?• Then you fall into this vicious circle

Do you seek Memory or Experience?

• Trip to Bahamas with no memories

• Hypnotized trip.

Financial Rationality

• Happiness = Probability of gain X Value of the gain.

• Errors in calculating probability. …Due to media, lottery ticket winners ---Dangers of going alone in night ---Travelling in airplane (terrorist attack/hijack)

Errors in estimating the value of the gain

• Most choices are the same. • QUOTE: • Ex. Lottery winner Vs Paralytic patient

• Over-estimating Gain…makes us toil away our life. Biggest irrationality is caring what other people think and living up to their expectations.

Synthesis of Happiness. Daniel Gilbert

• Happiness is same in most circumstances because we can synthesize happiness.

• Factors that determine overall life satisfaction and happiness…..

• Friends and family• Purpose of life• Health and Vitality

Synthesize Happiness

Shopping Irrationality

• Buying things that we get on discount• Price and Value error

• Purchases for one time use. • Suits, wedding dresses for special occasions. • Over-estimating the utility of our clothing. --Need to do simple math. Wardrobe filling with stuff we don’t want.

New Paradigm: Minimalism

• By giving away your stuff…• You MAXIMIZE your happiness you can derive

from the stuff sitting in your closet unused. • You derive happiness from the happiness of

people who benefit from it.

Should we chase new gadgets all the time?

• This is a hard question to argue. • Youth finds utility in new gadgets..but is it so

remarkably more handy that you discard your old gadget?

• Again…we make error in assessing the value of the gain.