Utility and greed

I am not sociologist.

Nor am I a psychologist. I am not qualified to talk about anything. ever. I took a sociology 101 class at Emory my first year of college and the only thing I remember is one discussion where my professor claimed it was stealing to refill a drink at a fast food restaurant and walk out. His claim was that you paid to enjoy the drink inside the store and to refill it and leave would be stealing from the restaurant. You could refill as many times as you wanted inside the restaurant (assuming there were free refills) but he equated refilling and leaving with larceny. He was either A) playing devil's advocate or B) an idiot. Either way, I digress.

As I was saying, I'm not qualified to talk about anything. But when has that stopped anyone before? That's my God-given right as an American to comment on things that I have no clue about. I blame ESPN for this, as it can make anyone who knows nothing about sports (i.e. me) feel like they are qualified to talk about them.

I am house sitting on Dauphin Island this week. It is, by all accounts, the best thing I could have done this week. It's relaxing. No one else is around. John came and visited monday and we fished. Betsy came and visited yesterday and we had a wonderful day. Even though she had a run-in with the law, it was still perfect to be able to spend time with her. I've been able to write music. I've sat outside. It's great. But it also has given me an opportunity to watch more tv than even I normally do. And one thing that I have caught at least three times this week has been deal or no deal. It's brilliant

Now I've been familiar with the show. I've watched it a couple of times. What strikes me as most intriguing about the show (other than how ridiculous Howie Mandel's beard/ear rings combo looks) is the fact that it is a microcosm of how America operates. It's the American dream in an hour segment. You start with nothing, you feel like you're entitled to everything, you strive for more, more, more, you forget basic common sense, and when the tide turns, you're left cutting a deal for whatever you can. After the first six cases are open, you are called by "the banker" who seems like a Scrooge McDuck sort of miser (yea, I just referenced Ducktales). The banker makes you a very reasonable offer, and inevitably, the player is almost insulted by how little it is because, "the million is still in play." Case in point, I was watching the other day where the contestant was a red-headed guy who was a fourth grade teacher. The first offer he got was $71,000. I'll repeat that, because it bears repeating. $71,000. He casually mentioned that $71,000 was nearly three times (!) his normal salary as a teacher, and said no deal, howie. Are you kidding me? For real? If someone walked up to you while you were walking down the street, and offered you your salary for the next three years in exchange for a case you have in your hand, would you turn it down? You've just made $71,000 for about three minutes worth of work. And I use the term work loosely. So the guy goes for several more rounds and sure enough, knocks just about every high number out except for like two hundred grand. I believe his offers went up to around 197,000 dollars. Which is just as ridiculous. Anyways, the guy eventually gets another offer from the banker which, after three or four rounds, has found it's way down to around 70,000 dollars. Now with the understanding that he no longer has an opportunity to get a million dollars, he is left to barter his position and has come to the conclusion that indeed, $70,000 is worth his time now.

Then it gets interesting.

Howie Mandel does this thing where he wants to see if you made a good deal. Basically, if what you sold your case for was more than what was actually in the case. This guy ends up having $200,000 in his case, and you can tell he's hurt by this fact. But here's the thing:
IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD DEAL

Oh sure, looking back on it, it doesn't seem good. But you didn't have that insight five minutes ago. You sold an unknown case for $70,000 or whatever. It's easy to play the what if game, but it ultimately doesn't matter. You just got $70,000 and travel accommodations for free. That's why this show is ridiculous. It makes people honestly think they deserve something more than the penny that is on the board. You try and get more and more and maximize utility until the tide turns and your forced to find the ultimate lowest possible price that you will leave with. The best strategy for that game is to go in, play two rounds, and take whatever the offer is. After that, chances are almost never in your favor.

But like I said, I'm no expert. I also don't understand the popularity of The Hills.