Thread: Perception of greatness

Very interesting read indeed, not only a demonstration of how we sometimes don't slow down to appreciate beauty, but an example of how value is objective.

Take the most valued razor in all the world and hand it to an orthodox Jewish man that believes it is against scripture to put a blade to your face. To this man our treasure would most likely be nothing more than a fancy letter opener.

I'm sure a number of those people would have stopped if they knew better or had time, but a number of them probably wouldn't have cared either way.

I only have one real issue with this entire expiriment...

Pennies? REALLY? someone tipped him with f%#&ing PENNIES? What the hell is wrong with people? how bout you just throw your empty Starbucks cup at him when you're done with it.

It's one thing to not care for the art someone is trying to share with you, even if you choose to completely ignore it. But to actually stop and take the time to dig in your pockets to toss an insult in their hat. That's not just rude, that is going out of your way to be rude.

This is interesting. I read once, that it is not illegal to sell a high brow product as a low brow product, but it is to sell it the other way round.

I read that duracell had one production line making one battery, and that they were sold for what they were but also as the cheaper alternative.

We buy into what we're sold.

heck, people have been paying through the nose for Rolex watches for years convinced of their magical powers.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

If someone took a DA, and laser etched "Filly" on there, would the perception be of what a great shaver it was? But as a $10 razor, "it couldn't possibly be any good..."

Can't speak about the DAs because I never had any of those, but the 9$ wapienicas were (are) amazing, and according to Iwan, they shaved better than his Livi Takeda and other big buck expensive blades.

In related news:

Many years back, my brother went through a phase where he wanted to learn how to play a bunch of different kinds of musical instruments: guitar, saxaphone, I don't remember what else....and then he remembered that our father had a pair of violins up in the attic from when our Dad had taken violin lessons on back when he was a kid out in Ohio. So, my brother asks our Dad if he can get them tuned up, and whatnot to get them back in useable condition. They had not been played in ages upon ages, unless you want to count when my brother and I played with them a couple of times when we were like 10 years old pretending to be backwoods fiddlers, the Charlie Daniels band or something.

So, my brother takes the two violins down to some music place in Harvard Square, asking to get them re-strung or whatever needed to get back in playing shape.

Well, it turns out, that one of the violin bows was a Smarmikov (OK, not the real name), but it was of some sort of make of reknown, and turned out to be worth $7,000!