Chapter Two Refresh
Welcome to the “End of Chapter Resource Page” for Chapter Two of The Golden Albatross book. In Chapter Two, I introduced you to the concept of worth vs. worth it. I made that introduction through my one and only No Shitter story from my time in the military. At the end of the chapter, I promised you pictures of the from the drug bust I described in the story. As a man of my word, I placed two of them below.
All that said, I’m not the only person in this world who’s ever attempted to describe the worth vs. worth it decision-making process. In fact, it turns out that scientists have run experiments attempting to determine how the brain makes worth it calculations. Yet, instead of referring you to some dry scientific research papers, I found an author, Dean Burnett, who actually addresses what he calls the “Is it worth it?” circuit in far more accessible formats. He specifically wrote about it in a book, talked about it on a podcast, and touched on it in an email to me. I placed links to the book and the podcast interview below. I also cut and paste a part of his email to me (with links to the original scientific studies) below. Enjoy!
But First Off, The Fun Stuff!
Here are two pictures from my No Shitter drug bust story:
A brick of Afghanistan hashish cleverly (?) hidden in a pasta sauce packet!
A close-up of a brick of Afghanistan hashish.
Secondly, Dean Burnett Explains His “Is It Worth It?” Circuit
In his book, “The Happy Brain“:
On the “You Are Not So Smart” (YANSS) podcast:
In an email to me when I asked him how he came up with the term:
Hi Grumpus,
Apologies for the slow reply, been a very busy period for me here lately. Thanks very much for the kind words regarding my appearance on the YANSS podcast, it’s always a pleasure to be invited on there.
Regarding your question, the “Is it worth it” circuit is a label that I came up with myself, but it’s based on a genuine published study, this one. There’s also an interesting study that suggests the amount of effort an action can cost, can directly affect our perceptions of it, or factors leading to it.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Dean