180
9 Networked Minds
9.6 Multi-Billion Dollar Industries for Each Desire
It turns out that our whole lives are structured around the various rewards which
drive human behavior. In the morning, we have breakfast to satisfy our hunger and
thirst. Then, we go to work to earn the money we want to spend on shopping, in
order to satisfy our desire to possess. Afterwards, we may engage in sports to get
adrenaline kicks. To satisfy our social desires, we may meet friends or watch a soap
opera. At the end of the day, we may read a book to stimulate our intellect or have
sex to satisfy this desire, too. In conclusion, I would venture that most of the time,
our behavior is not well understandable as result of the strategic optimization of a
static utility function that does not change over time (or very little).
10 Human nature
can be better explained by assuming a switching between multiple desires or goals.
Even though the basis of decision theory in its current form is pretty flawed, our
economy fits human nature surprisingly well!
11 We have created entire multi-billiondollar industries around each of our drives. We have developed a food industry,
supermarkets, restaurants and bars to satisfy our hunger and thirst. We have built
shopping malls to satisfy our desire to possess. We have constructed stadia and sports
facilities to enable adrenaline kicks, either as spectators or participants. We have a
porn industry and, in some jurisdictions, prostitution to meet our sexual desires. We
read books, solve puzzles, travel to cultural sites, or participate in interactive online
games to stimulate our intellect and satisfy our curiosity. Our media and tourism
industries also aim to satisfy these needs.
However, there seems to be a natural hierarchy of desires, explaining the order
in which these industries came up. When a new industry emerges, it changes the
character of our society by placing additional weight on desires that didn’t previously
exist or were looming in the background. So, which desires will determine the future
of our society?
Currently, the fastest growing economic sector is information and communications
technology. As all our other needs have been taken care of, we are now building industries to satisfy our desires as an “information-driven species”. This trend will place
additional emphasis on everything related to information. In other words, the digital
society to come will be much more determined by ideas, curiosity and creativity. But
that’s not all…
9.7 Being Social Is Rewarding, Too
Humans are not only driven by the reward systems mentioned above. We are also
social beings, driven by social desires and that’s why social media are so successful,
10 But note that nonetheless, people make informed trade-offs, such as avoiding costly parties if they
wish to possess things.
11 This probably means that the economy does something else than what is predicted by mainstream
economic theory.
9 Networked Minds
9.6 Multi-Billion Dollar Industries for Each Desire
It turns out that our whole lives are structured around the various rewards which
drive human behavior. In the morning, we have breakfast to satisfy our hunger and
thirst. Then, we go to work to earn the money we want to spend on shopping, in
order to satisfy our desire to possess. Afterwards, we may engage in sports to get
adrenaline kicks. To satisfy our social desires, we may meet friends or watch a soap
opera. At the end of the day, we may read a book to stimulate our intellect or have
sex to satisfy this desire, too. In conclusion, I would venture that most of the time,
our behavior is not well understandable as result of the strategic optimization of a
static utility function that does not change over time (or very little).
10 Human nature
can be better explained by assuming a switching between multiple desires or goals.
Even though the basis of decision theory in its current form is pretty flawed, our
economy fits human nature surprisingly well!
11 We have created entire multi-billiondollar industries around each of our drives. We have developed a food industry,
supermarkets, restaurants and bars to satisfy our hunger and thirst. We have built
shopping malls to satisfy our desire to possess. We have constructed stadia and sports
facilities to enable adrenaline kicks, either as spectators or participants. We have a
porn industry and, in some jurisdictions, prostitution to meet our sexual desires. We
read books, solve puzzles, travel to cultural sites, or participate in interactive online
games to stimulate our intellect and satisfy our curiosity. Our media and tourism
industries also aim to satisfy these needs.
However, there seems to be a natural hierarchy of desires, explaining the order
in which these industries came up. When a new industry emerges, it changes the
character of our society by placing additional weight on desires that didn’t previously
exist or were looming in the background. So, which desires will determine the future
of our society?
Currently, the fastest growing economic sector is information and communications
technology. As all our other needs have been taken care of, we are now building industries to satisfy our desires as an “information-driven species”. This trend will place
additional emphasis on everything related to information. In other words, the digital
society to come will be much more determined by ideas, curiosity and creativity. But
that’s not all…
9.7 Being Social Is Rewarding, Too
Humans are not only driven by the reward systems mentioned above. We are also
social beings, driven by social desires and that’s why social media are so successful,
10 But note that nonetheless, people make informed trade-offs, such as avoiding costly parties if they
wish to possess things.
11 This probably means that the economy does something else than what is predicted by mainstream
economic theory.