The chicken and egg story of passes
#124 - finally back, with some big news!
Hi there,
It’s been a while since I’ve been at my desk, ready to write about a mishmash of live events and thread a needle of useful learnings between them. The last 3 weeks have contained a lot - the 2nd half of and return from our family holiday in Europe and my A-Level Results Day and the subsequent emotions/preparations.
For those who haven’t been informed by me yet (sorry), I am off to Imperial College London for a 4-year Maths degree, after thankfully getting 4 A*s.
Yes - it’s not Cambridge. I narrowly missed the ‘STEP’ entrance exam grades. How do I feel about it, a week after getting the news? It’s obviously disappointing but I am reaching the acceptance stage (of these 5 stages of grief, found it fascinating) and looking forward to what’s next - an exciting, extravagant and expensive time in London.
Highlight of the week: going to a county cricket match with Kian, a Y12 friend and TSO reader. Edgbaston was a stark contrast to the white-ball games I’ve gone to before - pretty empty and peaceful. It was a good day out, to watch good-quality cricket in good weather.
I. One part of our holiday was in Salzburg, where we could buy a ‘Salzburg Card’ which gave us free/discounted access to over 30 ‘things’ (attractions/activities) and also free bus journeys. Some quick back-of-the-envelope calculations showed that it was definitely worth it: we would save a lot of money (% wise) over the 2 days we had for the city.
My dad was a little sceptical, but obliged to my requests along with Mum. In the end, we did quite a few things over the 48 hours. In a bid to prove the point to both me and Dad, I calculated how much we’d saved over the two days - it was a lot.
Proudly, I walk up to Dad and say “See, we saved this much”.
Didn’t get the reaction I wanted from Dad: “Well, fine, but we did some things because we had the card”. Hmm, I suppose…that point does have some merit…
II. To get to the Edgbaston Cricket Ground for the aforementioned game, we could either take the bus or the train. The train is the usual means of getting to Edgbaston from Sutton Coldfield, and proposed by Kian.
Now that my summer term bus pass has run out, I got a week pass for this week’s travels. Wanting to put it to use and save more money, I suggested taking the bus, which would’ve taken about 1.5x the time and required a change - a bit more faff.
After a brief conversation, I agreed with him, that I was being silly and that we should catch the train, which ended up being very smooth.
III. One of the books I read on holiday was “Can’t We Just Print More Money?” by The Bank of England (yes, that’s a real book!). A simplified introduction to economics with very good stories. Here’s one which I liked.
Until recently, the Bank canteen charged one single price for chips, no matter how many you took. Yet the canteen staff had noticed a problem. People were taking far bigger portions than they needed to, leading to significant food waste from unfinished plates. At the same time, on some days there was a shortage of chips for those turning up late to the lunch hall…this is a well-documented problem in buffets around the world.
All of these 3 stories show the power of incentives and how we need to think carefully about what we’re incentivising, and also which way around these kinds of ‘unlimited’ systems work.
We saved money in Salzburg. What was the reason? Did we save money on all the attractions we visited in Salzburg because of the card? Or did we go to so many places as a result of having the card?
The example with Kian and the BoE chips shows instances where having such options can cloud judgement and lead to inefficient outcomes. Hence, it’s important to think about whether you’re making a decision because it’s the best one or because it’s the most obvious following a previous decision. This could be a cousin of the ‘sunk cost fallacy’.
On the other hand, we can make use of this to influence future actions positively. By using what James Clear calls “commitment devices” in Atomic Habits, we can “lock in future behaviour, bind you to good habits, and restrict you from bad ones”. Examples that come to mind include:
Paying ahead for a 9 or 12-month gym membership, even if it’s a large amount, to make you to keep going to the gym.
Enrol in an automatic savings plan, which takes the monthly choice out of your hands
Delete games and social media apps from your phone
There it is, a post after 3 weeks and an exploration into the funny ways we behave when we commit to an ‘all you can eat’ style setup. I’d love to hear if you have any similar examples of what happens when you sign up for something which gives you unlimited access. The lesson learnt is to figure out whether you really want to do the things on the pass’ list and then buy the pass…happy holidays!
Book of the week 📖
I’ve jumped into The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande. Short and full of stories.
Podcast of the week🎙️
IFS Zooms In: The Economy - Why are universities in financial trouble?
The first ever episode I’ve listened to of this podcast but found the level of detail, tone and practicality to be refreshing and spot on.
What I’m grateful for this week 🙏
The personal trainer at the gym who showed me a couple of stretches on Wednesday, when my quads felt a bit sore.
Quote of the week 💬
I’ve referred to this one a lot in conversations over the past 10 days, and you’ll probably know why.
You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in the future Steve Jobs
Thanks for reading today’s post, and till next week, wishing you luck in making smart decisions 😄
Adi