Consumer behavior, hard drugs, and marriage

Having a rational mind does not mean having a rational life. There is nothing wrong with the brain of a person who, after buying a new pair of shoes that is too small, will keep the shoes, and the more the shoes cost, the longer they keep. The rational thing would be to give them away the first day, but as human beings we like things to depreciate perceptually before discarding them. We are just as strangers when it comes to drugs and marriage.

We had a scare at the office the other day. A colleague suffered chest pains. We went to the local clinic (it was after 5 o’clock), and a very kind doctor in charge, hearing our profession, said: “I only have two questions. What substances do you take and when was the last time you slept?” Fortunately, the response to both reflected the healthy choices my colleague had made (except smoking).

Getting hooked on drugs is bad news. But it can also be a rational decision (which is why intelligence and drug use are not necessarily mutually exclusive). Let’s say you can’t have your morning cup of coffee. Your head hurts, you’re in a bad mood, and you can’t concentrate. You are addicted to withdrawal. If you don’t, you will be free of your addiction in a few days. Instead, you find that coffee no matter what. Is your decision irrational, asks Tim Harford in his book? The logic of life?

Imagine a young man who is thinking of trying a new drug. You know that everyone who tries it loves it, at least at first. Some users then find that their lives degenerate into an increasingly desperate and futile attempt to regain the initial buzz, leading to the pain of the cold turkey or the heartache of eternal and unsatisfying addiction. Others seem to enjoy the effects and remain quite content for the rest of their lives. You have no way of knowing which category it will fall into. Is it rational for me to take the drug?

Now, if you replace ‘drugs’ with ‘marriage’ and ‘quit’ with ‘divorce’ in the above paragraph, it reads like this:

Imagine a young man who is thinking about trying to get married. You know that everyone who tries it loves it, at least at first. Then some users find that their lives degenerate into an increasingly desperate and futile attempt to regain the initial buzz, leading to the pain of divorce or the heartache of eternal, fruitless marriage. Others seem to enjoy the effects and remain quite content for the rest of their lives. You have no way of knowing which category it will fall into. Is it rational for him to get married?

The drug user, the newlywed or the coffee addict may be making a mistake, but they believe that together, the decision will pay off. That’s what addicts do. Gold coffee drinkers. Golden newlyweds. Which one you become probably depends on genetics, socioeconomics, and peer pressure, but at the end of the day, it’s all the same wiring.

This is not an argument in support of the “economic man” model. I have no idea why my wife spent an enormous amount of money on a porcelain cat, when we clearly needed a hair dryer. Although I would not tell you directly, you could debate the rational component of this decision. But what it does point out quite clearly is that a small vice and a huge vice is only a matter of degree.

Reference: Tim Harford. The logic of life. Little brown, 2008.