lose the I
hubris and ego contribute to escalation. these 2 attributes cause people to pursue courses which have proven to be bad, because a lot has been committed to the cause. as with all other human characteristics, some people are blessed (cursed) with more or less. and i figure it is the amount of the two that people have that makes them stay the course longer. most psych students would know about the $20 auction. or whatever amount it is. people bid for a note, of arbitary value. any amount can be bet. the catch in the auction is that the 2nd highest bidder also has to pay the price that they bid. this provides a typical example of escalation, because in order not to lose the amount that they bid, the highest bid almost always ends up being much greater than the value of the note. that's unless there is a case of collusion, in which case this theory isn't valid. anyhow, a lot of the things we do in life can be explained with this theory. why do we commit more and more resources to a cause even though the cost outweighs the benefits? sometimes, what needs to be done is take a few steps back and evaluate the situation as objectively as one can, in as rational a manner as possible. then... maybe... we'll realise that a different course might be more beneficial.
