Comments on: The good old days http://www.stevesbets.com/56/the-good-old-days/ professional online poker player Mon, 03 May 2010 03:37:55 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Dan http://www.stevesbets.com/56/the-good-old-days/comment-page-1/#comment-275 Dan Wed, 16 Jan 2008 16:21:40 +0000 http://www.stevesbets.com/56/the-good-old-days/#comment-275 Whoever won the $5 for New Year's? Whoever won the $5 for New Year’s?

]]> By: CA http://www.stevesbets.com/56/the-good-old-days/comment-page-1/#comment-273 CA Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:59:16 +0000 http://www.stevesbets.com/56/the-good-old-days/#comment-273 It is probably just experience and growing up. It isn't all about money. Being broke in college and going to crowded, stinking parties with crap beer and waking up with a wicked hangover. Drinking in the woods with friends in high school. Good times because that was all you had. Just because you have grown up (or moved up the limits) and paid your dues, it isn't necessarily a bad thing that you don't want to go back and repeat the process and the things you enjoyed at that stage in life. Just a couple cents. Great blog and keep it up. It is probably just experience and growing up. It isn’t all about money. Being broke in college and going to crowded, stinking parties with crap beer and waking up with a wicked hangover. Drinking in the woods with friends in high school. Good times because that was all you had. Just because you have grown up (or moved up the limits) and paid your dues, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing that you don’t want to go back and repeat the process and the things you enjoyed at that stage in life. Just a couple cents.
Great blog and keep it up.

]]> By: exstrax http://www.stevesbets.com/56/the-good-old-days/comment-page-1/#comment-272 exstrax Sun, 13 Jan 2008 04:12:58 +0000 http://www.stevesbets.com/56/the-good-old-days/#comment-272 are you the science guy? are you the science guy?

]]> By: Bill Nye http://www.stevesbets.com/56/the-good-old-days/comment-page-1/#comment-271 Bill Nye Sat, 12 Jan 2008 18:07:49 +0000 http://www.stevesbets.com/56/the-good-old-days/#comment-271 It looks to me as if you are describing a textbook case of cognitive dissonance; refer to Festinger, L. and Carlsmith, J. M. (1959). You see, there are powerful psychological forces in play in your story. And for you and the benefit of your readers, I will outline them here for you now. First, a brief recap of the facts. The task you were engaging in (marathon poker sessions) was largely monotonous, repetitive, and for little no money, as you describe that you often “came home broke” and it was “depressing.” One might describe this as boring. And yet, if seemingly contradictory, after the long train ride and virtually no sleep you still have fond memories of the experience and remember it as exciting. How can this be? Especially if, for hundreds of dollars (if not more) you still wouldn’t repeat it today. Well, it is actually quite simple. Without sufficient external justification, the mere fact that you received no money for your toils caused you to change your attitude and beliefs—“Well I didn’t make any money, so I must have had a good time.” This is known as forced compliance. Today, if someone paid you money to repeat the experience (a nice hourly wage) you would have a clear external justification and therefore no internal conflict, which would result in you not having a good time. The money becomes the new justification, and your actual attitudes of the event are no longer conflicted — which is exactly what you predict in your blog when you say: “The funniest part of the whole thing is, even though we remember clearly that coming home stunk, and that now we wouldnt repeat that sort of trip now even for a very nice hourly wage, we have very fond memories of doing the exact thing for no payment of any sort.” Yeah, I’m that good…feel free to buy my latest book. It looks to me as if you are describing a textbook case of cognitive dissonance; refer to Festinger, L. and Carlsmith, J. M. (1959).

You see, there are powerful psychological forces in play in your story. And for you and the benefit of your readers, I will outline them here for you now. First, a brief recap of the facts.

The task you were engaging in (marathon poker sessions) was largely monotonous, repetitive, and for little no money, as you describe that you often “came home broke” and it was “depressing.” One might describe this as boring. And yet, if seemingly contradictory, after the long train ride and virtually no sleep you still have fond memories of the experience and remember it as exciting. How can this be? Especially if, for hundreds of dollars (if not more) you still wouldn’t repeat it today.

Well, it is actually quite simple. Without sufficient external justification, the mere fact that you received no money for your toils caused you to change your attitude and beliefs—“Well I didn’t make any money, so I must have had a good time.” This is known as forced compliance.

Today, if someone paid you money to repeat the experience (a nice hourly wage) you would have a clear external justification and therefore no internal conflict, which would result in you not having a good time. The money becomes the new justification, and your actual attitudes of the event are no longer conflicted — which is exactly what you predict in your blog when you say:

“The funniest part of the whole thing is, even though we remember clearly that coming home stunk, and that now we wouldnt repeat that sort of trip now even for a very nice hourly wage, we have very fond memories of doing the exact thing for no payment of any sort.”

Yeah, I’m that good…feel free to buy my latest book.

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