Food for thought

felt tat this was interesting, so wanted to share with everyone here ;)

taken from Little Bites of Point

Why the Venus Project must destroy humanity to create a perfect world for humans

Dollars are money, but money is not dollars. Gold is money, but money is not gold. How do I explain these apparent contradictions? Simple, there is a one-to-many relationship between money and things we use for money. Referring to dollars as a form of money is technically accurate, but referring to money as dollars is not sufficient to describe all the properties of money — it limits the definition to dollars. Money is anything we use to trade for what we want. It's a store of purchasing power. It's something people either want, or will accept, in exchange for their property or labor. Sometimes money is a physical object, sometimes not. Not all forms of money are equal.

People will always assign different values to different things. People will always be willing trade things they want less for things they want more. Unless people have nothing, they will always be willing to trade something they possess for something they don't. The price is not a numeric figure glued to a box, it's the difference in the perception of utility between that item and what you are prepared to sacrifice. The price is not measured in dollars, it's measured in desires, and it's different for everyone. Therefore, as long as people desire things they don't have, they will be willing to trade to acquire them. It doesn't matter what they are trading, all that matters is they are willing to sacrifice some object, or offer some service, to gain something they perceived was lacking. It doesn't even matter if their assessment is accurate or logical. It doesn't matter whether the item will yield any benefit or advantage whatsoever.

Human desire is limitless. Econometrics is a failing science because human desire can not be modeled, it is not rational. Producing an abundance of anything will create demand for anything else. Our desires are governed by our biology and our perceptions of utility, both of which are variable, non-quantifiable and often wildly out of touch with reality. If you deny this fact, then you deny humanity because you reject what differentiates us from our creations. We are flawed creatures, not machines. You can not quantify how much you like things in any consistent way. If you asked me to choose between an apple and an orange, I may choose the apple. If you then asked me to choose between an orange and a banana, I may choose the orange. If you then asked me to choose between an apple and a banana, would you call me a liar if I chose the banana? No, you would call me human. Repeat the same experiment tomorrow and it may turn out completely different.

If somebody were to ask whether you are completely satisfied with life, either you are, or you are not. If you are, you're not human. If you're not and somebody then asks you to list everything you want in life in order to be completely satisfied, either you will prepare a list or you won't. If you have no list there is no way any person or system can satisfy your desires because they would have no idea what to do. If you have a list, find out how many of those items are material and how many are not. If they are all material, you're either an idiot (because you didn't understand the question) or a liar. There is no person with a perfectly balanced existence (health, love, family, emotions, interests, friends, challenges, victories, safety, comfort, hope, skepticism, curiosity, memories, optimism, excitement, etc) because there is no definition of a perfect balance. Your own perceptions of balance are variable and non-quantifiable. What is perfect in the current moment will be imperfect in the next, what is perfect today will be imperfect tomorrow. The interminable and unpredictable fluctuations of our imbalances and imperfections continually create and destroy desires until the day we die.

Experience with these imbalances and fluctuations throughout life and events are what define personality, goals, dreams and desires. There is no way any person or system can satisfy you completely without taking away these flaws that make you human. Thus, you will always be lacking something. It is immaterial whether it's real or just perceived, whether it's persistent or transient, whether it's acknowledged or subconscious. You will be willing to trade, you will offer money, for a price.

We are not machines.