thedustindotcomarchives
Don't Leave Your Thoughts Outside the Box
I never thought moving a truckload of someone else's boxes could have such a profound effect on my life. That is, until, someone called out the label on the box they were carrying. "Info/Ideas", the box read. And now my life is changed.
Shopping Cart Economics
At the core of any engineer's value to the progress of civilization - especially those civilizations catalyzed by capitalism - is the ability to properly evaluate the cost-benefit analysis of the aforementioned engineer's innovation (I'll leave the determination of where the responsibility of the cost-benefit analysis lies for another time). More critical than the cost-benefit analysis itself, however, is the timing of such analysis. Clearly such worries over cost versus benefit can stifle the creativity and free thinking required for proper, that is innovative, innovation. Given that you agree with me regarding this assessment, you will understand the current state of the evolution of my thoughts regarding Shopping Cart Economics.
First, a description of things that the following literature is not. It is not a sound, time-tested, academically respected or recognized theory. I have never even shared these specific thoughts with my roommate, and he has a degree in Economics. Heck, I'm not even 100% certain that this pertains entirely to economics, but I'm pretty sure it does. Regardless of these facts, take heed, as you are about to embark on an exploration of a mind that is far too restless to find peaceful sleep overwhelming it in the next 3 hours.
At some point within the last 10 years - nah, let's make it 7 - I decided that the simple act of returning my shopping cart to its proper place inside the store in which it belongs rather than to one of the conveniently located "shopping cart return" receiving areas in the parking lot could have a profound effect on the overall state of the world. For starters, the increased walking benefits my own personal fitness. Generally, when I am in better shape, I feel better about myself, I'm nicer to people, I perform my job more efficiently and I am better able to communicate (read: more tactful) at guiding others to a more efficient way of life as well. Yeah, it may seem that humility suffers a bit, but staying focused on a little bit of cost versus a lot of benefit will help you ignore that.
(Not completely unrelated but certainly distracting sidebar: The preceding and following argument is not strictly restrained to returning a shopping cart to the store, but may also support acts such as picking a cart from the parking lot return areas rather than from inside the store and similarly characterized actions.)
Certainly, the benefits of pushing a shopping cart an extra 50 meters in relation to my overall fitness are marginal at best. Thus, it would behoove you to quickly turn your attention from my discussion of that benefit to my discussion of the next - community. Community in and of itself is not the benefit but, as my 19 year old self would argue, the act of returning the shopping cart benefits the community.
When I think about my job, and days that go smoothly versus days that do not, it's the interaction with those that serve me and those that I serve that provide the most significant impact on the final result of my day. If someone does something to make my job easier, I have a better attitude, I am more inclined to do more than is asked of me, and even my perception of the day or the task is improved. Conversely, if someone deliberately or unknowingly throws a wrench in my already sputtering machine, then the opposite is true of my attitude, motivation, and outlook. While this observation is neither groundbreaking nor particularly characteristic of a Christ-following existence, it is a fairly obvious trait of human nature. In response to this fact of human nature, I perceive the effect of pushing a shopping cart an extra 50 meters as a benefit to the person employed with this task.
But hold the train, conductor, because 26 year old me is about to hop aboard and he's not so sure about what just transpired. It isn't difficult to surmise that the very job itself, cart-retrieval that is, was borne out of the increasing laziness of US Americans. The ever-homogenizing retailers seek to find ways to differentiate itself in services, particularly those that cater to new lows in US American indolence. But new jobs, in a market not yet completely saturated with them, are a good thing, aren't they?
What then, is the effect of a counter-culture whose seemingly selfless sacrifice actually turns out to undermine the livelihood of those it seeks to protect? Are situations like these anything more than economic see-saws teetering between the employed and unemployed? Is there true value to the overall community in jobs that cater to our least desirable qualities? Similarly, do these types of jobs cause periods of inefficiency in our capitalist economy? What parameters define the cost-benefit relationship - Is it the perceived monetary value of a job? Is it the quality of life that is provided by this perceived monetary value? Is it the morality of acquiescing to our every shortcoming by relying on our interdependence?
And one last thing, who's going to be the first to offer Segway-propelled shopping carts?
First, a description of things that the following literature is not. It is not a sound, time-tested, academically respected or recognized theory. I have never even shared these specific thoughts with my roommate, and he has a degree in Economics. Heck, I'm not even 100% certain that this pertains entirely to economics, but I'm pretty sure it does. Regardless of these facts, take heed, as you are about to embark on an exploration of a mind that is far too restless to find peaceful sleep overwhelming it in the next 3 hours.
At some point within the last 10 years - nah, let's make it 7 - I decided that the simple act of returning my shopping cart to its proper place inside the store in which it belongs rather than to one of the conveniently located "shopping cart return" receiving areas in the parking lot could have a profound effect on the overall state of the world. For starters, the increased walking benefits my own personal fitness. Generally, when I am in better shape, I feel better about myself, I'm nicer to people, I perform my job more efficiently and I am better able to communicate (read: more tactful) at guiding others to a more efficient way of life as well. Yeah, it may seem that humility suffers a bit, but staying focused on a little bit of cost versus a lot of benefit will help you ignore that.
(Not completely unrelated but certainly distracting sidebar: The preceding and following argument is not strictly restrained to returning a shopping cart to the store, but may also support acts such as picking a cart from the parking lot return areas rather than from inside the store and similarly characterized actions.)
Certainly, the benefits of pushing a shopping cart an extra 50 meters in relation to my overall fitness are marginal at best. Thus, it would behoove you to quickly turn your attention from my discussion of that benefit to my discussion of the next - community. Community in and of itself is not the benefit but, as my 19 year old self would argue, the act of returning the shopping cart benefits the community.
When I think about my job, and days that go smoothly versus days that do not, it's the interaction with those that serve me and those that I serve that provide the most significant impact on the final result of my day. If someone does something to make my job easier, I have a better attitude, I am more inclined to do more than is asked of me, and even my perception of the day or the task is improved. Conversely, if someone deliberately or unknowingly throws a wrench in my already sputtering machine, then the opposite is true of my attitude, motivation, and outlook. While this observation is neither groundbreaking nor particularly characteristic of a Christ-following existence, it is a fairly obvious trait of human nature. In response to this fact of human nature, I perceive the effect of pushing a shopping cart an extra 50 meters as a benefit to the person employed with this task.
But hold the train, conductor, because 26 year old me is about to hop aboard and he's not so sure about what just transpired. It isn't difficult to surmise that the very job itself, cart-retrieval that is, was borne out of the increasing laziness of US Americans. The ever-homogenizing retailers seek to find ways to differentiate itself in services, particularly those that cater to new lows in US American indolence. But new jobs, in a market not yet completely saturated with them, are a good thing, aren't they?
What then, is the effect of a counter-culture whose seemingly selfless sacrifice actually turns out to undermine the livelihood of those it seeks to protect? Are situations like these anything more than economic see-saws teetering between the employed and unemployed? Is there true value to the overall community in jobs that cater to our least desirable qualities? Similarly, do these types of jobs cause periods of inefficiency in our capitalist economy? What parameters define the cost-benefit relationship - Is it the perceived monetary value of a job? Is it the quality of life that is provided by this perceived monetary value? Is it the morality of acquiescing to our every shortcoming by relying on our interdependence?
And one last thing, who's going to be the first to offer Segway-propelled shopping carts?