Jason Liew

 

 

在澳洲的阿德莱德（Adelaide），

一个离市中心大约15公里的西北方，

有一个小岛，叫做Torrens Island．

这岛上有一个发电厂，TruEnergy 发电厂。

这发电厂是澳洲南部最大的发电厂，总输出量可达1,280MW。

 

而这么庞大的电量，

会从总电缆被输出到各地区的电厂里调压（transformer),

把那高电压分了，降到住家用户的230V标准，

才可以用电轴输送到老百姓的家里去，

点燃万家灯火，照亮澳洲南部的每一个夜晚。

 

然后我们问：“为什么不直接把发电厂的电源输到我们家里去？”

我们男人不是最爱“大”的东西吗？

最大的车子，最大的房子，最大的电视，最大的职位，最大的胸部……

为什么不要最大的电量？

因为我们都知道，如果我们真的把发电厂的高电压接到家里去，

轻则，可能你会听到”pszz”一声，你的电器因为负荷不了高电压而坏了，

重则，你可能把整栋房子也给烧了。

 

这些物理常识，大家都知道。

但是“知道”和“做到”往往都是两回事。　

而在感情方面，相信不少人也有这方面的经验：

 

你爱她，

你喜欢她，

你不能失去她，

你在乎的只有她，

你的生存意义就是她，

你愿意把你的一切送她，

你要把全世界最好的都给她……

 

你，

浑身解数，不留后路地爱她呵护她，

犹如，把发电厂的总电缆往家里插，

终于电死了她。

 

从喧闹的俱乐部里，聆听陌生人的风流韵事，

到灯红酒绿的酒吧，倾诉兄弟们的心酸往事，　

到夜阑人静的枕边，细说你女人的红尘往事……

 

我们都不难发现，

那认真而又不解风情的陌生人，

那被家人过分照顾和关注的长子，

那位在你之前，对你的女人太好的前任男友，

这些男人坚强的身躯背后，

仿佛都有一个无奈的故事，

一个“太在乎”的故事．

 

（待续）

 

 

编按：　这篇短文，送给墨尔本的Erick， 新加坡的Raymond，香港的Kevin，

　　　　还有给那千千万万位，正在＂在乎＂或被＂在乎＂的男人们．　

1 comment

 

I’m not teaching you how to lie.

However, if you did screw up your relationships and being stuck in a love triangle. Game Theory might help.

Supposingly, “A” treats you really good, her trust and faith in you makes you feel really guilty about your affairs with B.

And now, everyday you are being tortured by your self-righteous and moral values. You are in a dillema whether to confess to “A” about your relationship with “B”.

 

Assuming ”A” is a reasonably rational and orservant person that has felt something wrong about Player in the long run. And, “A” is in a dillema of asking or ignoring what  she has been suspecting in you.

 

Let’s contruct the game table.

 

 

Explanation:

 

The payoff is the amount of lover that the particular person possesses after the decision making.

 

• If Victim chooses “Ask”, and Player chooses “Confess”
  Assuming victim to be a rational person, she will decide to dump her bf. Therefore, victim is left with 0 lover. After being dumped by victim, Player is left with 1 lover (the B) instead of 2 (A & B).

Therefore, the payoff is ( 0, 1 ).

• If Victim chooses “Ignore”, and Player chooses “Confess”
  Victim chooses to ignore the suspicious behaviour of Player, but Player decided to confess due to guiltiness. Victim has a 50-50 probability of dumping Player, hence the expected outcome for Victim’s lover amount is 0.5 statistically.

         P (x=breakup) = 0.5 x 0 lover
                               =0

         P ( x=not breakup )= 0.5 x 1 lover

                                     = 0.5

         ExP(x) = expected outcome

                   = 0 + 0.5

                   = 0.5

 

Bringing the amount of 0.5 to Player who has another gf (the B), his total amount of lover is 1.5 mathemathically.

The payoff is (0.5 , 1.5)

 

• If Victim chooses “ask”, and Player chooses “not confess”
  Victim will also has a 50-50 probability of dumping Player due to her suspicion. Victim might lose faith or feel that Player has changed, he is no longer the Player she fell in love in the past. However, there is an equal share of chance that Victim might choose to believe Player still.

Therefore, the outcome is similiar to the previous case of {Ignore, Confess}
yielding a payoff of ( 0.5 , 1.5 ).

 

• If Victim chooses “Ignore” , and Player chooses “Not Confess”
  Obviously, this is the best outcome. There isn’t any confrontation. Victim will have 1 bf, which is Player. While Player will have 2 gf in total.

The payoff is (1 , 2)

 

 

Analysis:

 

It is not hard to figure out that, Player has a strict dominant strategy in this simultaneous game.

 

• When Victim chooses “Ask”, Player gets a higher return by choosing “Not Confess” (1.5 > 1)
• When Victim chooses “Ignore”, Player also gets a higher return by choosing “Not confess” (2 > 1.5)

In conclusion, when things fall apart and love fades away, no matter what Victim chooses, Player will choose “Not Confess” in this decision making, provided that Player is a rational and payoff-oriented decision maker.

 

Today, Game Theory has added another reason or excuse for “Why people lie in relationships”. Recalling the first class of microeconomics I had in Melbourne University, recalling the Ten Principles of Economics in Mankiw textbook, perhaps we just have to admit that, in every affair, every betrayal, every confrontation, every decision making, every relationship failure, there is nothing personal, it is just Economics.

 

 

 

3 comments

 

Economics is a study about the scarcity of resources;
while Loveconomics is a brain child of Jason Liew,
a concept developed by a Melbourne University commerce student
on his 8-hours flight back home from Melbourne.

 

Loveconomics
examines the endless pursuit for happiness,
the unlimited wants for freedom, 
and the insatiable desire for love,
in a realm which genuine relationship is always experiencing shortage,
in a tradeoff which opportunity cost is often irrational and irreversible, 
and nevertheless,
in a world which government intervention or Price Mechanism 
can hardly remedy the market failure.

 

 

 

 

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