[forgotmylastone]

I am so pissed that my million dollar cancer treatment has come down in price to $500. I mean, sure, I got treated two months ago, and I would be dead right now had I not, but that wasn't the point. Living is nice, but what I really wanted from this cancer treatment was to live while others who couldn't afford it died. I guess there is some small consolation in the fact that a lot of people died during a couple months there, but this whole thing just pisses me off. I don't know if my slight, smug satisfaction at their deaths was worth the million bucks. On a normal technology schedule, I would expect at least a year of deaths; didn't Apple know we were counting on that? I hate you Apple.

[aston]

Because buying an iPhone was a life or death decision. It's really not that serious, but this is not a good analogy at all.

[forgotmylastone]

Basically the iphone had a $200 smugness cost built-in that provided way more than $200 of smugness, so all the smug seekers made out well--for a while. They forgot to factor in the fact that the smugness thereby provided was contingent on the absence of a near-future "now who's smug?" award for those society deems "not so smug as an early iPhone adopter," which, a some short time after all the shaken chicken-bones had settled, is exactly what happened.

Let's say the iPhone was given free today instead of just price-reduced: that would make you even angrier! Imagine the gall--other people getting things! Why, if we carry out your logic to its conclusion, you'd be happy if people had to pay more tomorrow than today, as though taking from others somehow justifies and internally authenticates your existence.

[Xichekolas]

Sounds like someone is bitter he didn't get an iPhone and all his rich friends did...

Just kidding. I agree with your point. It's well documented that humans get psychological satisfaction out of having more and better stuff than those around them, not just content to have the stuff to begin with. I suspect that a big part of the appeal of the iphone was the bling factor, the exclusivity of having one and showing it off during the usual weekend mating ritual. If you had spent all that money to be quirky and unique (since that is really what Apple marketing is selling), wouldn't you be pissed if suddenly your unique feature became mainstream?

You can read more about the Ultimatum game that tests this here: http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9...

[rms]

it was still funny