One thing that trips me up on a regular basis is recognizing when I get sloppy about values and rates. Often, I will focus upon a value and not upon the rate that determines value. I’m not alone in doing this, I know. It is a well-recognized human problem that is studied in both economics and psychology. Still, even though I studied it in grad school, I don’t do it any less often.
I guess that it’s important for me to realize two things. First and obviously, rates and values are intertwined yet distinct. Second, almost always we should be more concerned about rates than about values because ultimately, rates are the only thing that matter. Rate determines value.
So: A value is the measure of a thing. A value tells me how many gallons of gas are in my tank at this moment. A value tells me that I weigh … um … so many pounds. A value tells me how many beans are in the jar.
And: A rate tells me how fast or slow a value is changing. I know that my car uses about one gallon of gas for every 30 miles I drive. My weight goes up one pound every time I eat an extra 3,600 calories. And so on…
Ultimately, all values change and the question is about the range of values that are acceptable and how to manipulate rates that keep the values within the right tolerances.
My life, which seems like a value is really a rate. My personality changes, it is not a constant set of values although the rate of change is usually pretty slow. My health changes and the rate of change is across several different dimensions; I measure my cholesterol (value) and think about how to lower it (rate), etc. My bank account changes faster than I like, usually in the direction I don’t like and I worry about running out of money.
Considering that last example, about my bank account reaching zero…it suggests that there is only one value that matters: zero. Death. A value of life of zero (and a rate of zero, too!).
Until value-zero hits me, I’m going to start thinking about everything as a rate. Everything is change. At least, that’s what I’m going to remind myself the next time I catch myself obsessing about a value…
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