We’re going to do a thought experiment about memory and time. Here’s how it works:
Imagine you wake up in a hospital with no memory of the past day. You overhear doctors talking:
“We’re not sure which patient this is. It’s either the one who just finished a 4-hour surgery without anaesthesia, or the one about to have a 1-hour surgery without anaesthesia.”
Which would you prefer to be?
Stand up if you’d rather be the person who already had the 4-hour surgery.
Stay seated if you’d rather be about to have the 1-hour surgery.
Most people prefer longer past suffering over shorter future suffering. But why? The total pain is less with 1 hour than 4 hours.
Now flip it: You’re either the person who just had a 4-hour amazing party, or you’re about to have a 1-hour amazing party. Which would you prefer now?
Why do we care so much more about what’s coming than what’s already happened?
Contributor(s)
- learningnow