bartitsu t1_j3snhdh wrote on January 10, 2023 at 8:20 PM

Maybe not... Ever heard of sunken cost fallacy?

Edit, just to make it clear: if you do have a goal that is achievable and you know how to achieve it absolutely go for it! But this illustration says the exact opposite.

1friendswithsalad t1_j3tczrk wrote on January 10, 2023 at 10:53 PM

My first thought was- this is a literal illustration of the mindset of sunk cost fallacy. Yikes.

USeaMoose t1_j3t0m40 wrote on January 10, 2023 at 9:37 PM

That's exactly what this is.

You've invested time or money into something, there's no sign of it paying off in any way, but you should continue on anyways because otherwise you are wasting the resources you've put in. And maybe, despite all indications, you just need to invest a little bit more for it to all pay off.

It applies as well to a gambler sitting at a slot machine, or buying lotto tickets as anything else.

Not that it would really work in the comic... but it seems like it could be improved if it was made clear that the guy on the bottom had been gradually finding more and more diamonds as he went, just not the jackpot he was hoping for.

Then maybe the message could be to not lose hope if you are showing improvement, just not at the pace you hoped for.

thats1evildude t1_j3uvz7x wrote on January 11, 2023 at 5:33 AM

It’s not always clear whether you’re in a situation where you should cut your losses or you should persevere. There are lots of stories of people who stuck it out and won big, but just as many stories of people who lost everything by staying on a sinking ship.

Ortus14 t1_j3vp0m3 wrote on January 11, 2023 at 11:36 AM

And the billionaires and millionaires who succeeded have the biggest voice, so we never hear from the 99% of entrepreneurs who were just as smart and hardworking, often times more so, but circumstances didn't favor them and they lost everything to the point where they never fully recover.

I took an entrepreneurship class a while back, and asked the teacher (who had started a few successful businesses) if any one ever goes homeless. He said it definitely does happen, and he had a friend that had started a business and it wasn't going well and then the guy never responded. He thinks the guy went homeless, and no money for cell phone, no address, no relevant job experience for anything.

I don't know much, but I'll always strive to improve the condition of my life while also keeping in mind that life may continue to get worse regardless of my efforts. But I make effort to be grateful for what I have, even if all I have is a very hard potentially impossible challenge to solve.