I am a (relatively) newly engaged man and engagement is about planning a wedding and preparing for marriage. I have to say that I have never understood the concept of opportunity costs more clearly than in the course of evaluating decisions for the wedding. Would we rather invite 50 more people or keep our guest list constant but increase the quality of the food? Would we rather have the wedding on a Sunday at our ideal location or on a Saturday at our second choice? Would we rather have a band to increase the probability of dancing and thereby increase the probability of a more enjoyable wedding or would the cost saved by using a DJ compensate us properly for the lower probability of dancing?
There have been a few times where I've been tempted to draw indifference curves for our various options, overlay the budget, and see what maximizes our utility. That would truly make me homo economicus (assuming I could accurately draw the indifference curves, which is especially difficult given that there are multiple parties involved).
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Dwarkesh!
6 hours ago
I'd love to see your indifference curve on the same graph as Jessica's. That would be a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteYou know, your goal in preparing for marriage ought to be gaining the ability to draw an indifference curve for Jessica that mirrors one she would draw for herself. If you can do that, you'll be set.
Big Brett, did you really boil down marriage to a set of indifference curves? ha! Anyhow, when it comes to a wedding, I'm guessing that the bride and groom's indifference curves are not created equal.
ReplyDeleteIs there a chance that a better wedding might lead to a better marriage? Is there something you could give in to now to use as leverage later? Just some thoughts...jk lol
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