[kerkeslager]

The kind of person who looks at this sort of thing and says, "Hey we should use this to manipulate people" is the kind of person our society needs less of.

I'm sure Hacker News will have some earnest argument for why this form of competition is actually good for people.

[johnnyanmac]

> sure Hacker News will have some earnest argument for why this form of competition is actually good for people.

Nope, the current consensus this time is HN assuming they know better than a researcher (and decades of business) and inserting their own opinions.

>The kind of person who looks at this sort of thing and says, "Hey we should use this to manipulate people" is the kind of person our society needs less of.

Ever since JC Penney, I grew apathetic. People want to be tricked, why ruin their fun?

[AgentOrange1234]

I get where you are coming from.

Books like Influence the art of persuasion and Thinking fast and slow wrestle a bit with the morality of studying this kind of stuff.

It’s certainly possible to misuse the insights to manipulate others, but it’s also important to be able to recognize when and how you’re being manipulated.

[kerkeslager]

I'm not criticizing the researchers--facts by themselves aren't moral or immoral.

It's the people who use this sort of pricing model that I'm critical of. It's sort of a moot point though, given this method of manipulation is so deeply embedded in our economy at this point.