Diminishing Returns Mind Experiment

[mso489]

Another one of these mind experiments. Suppose you packed away your most treasured pipes, half your collection, and left the others out (well loved but not your first selection). Somehow all those left out are destroyed -- natural catastrophe, no one's fault, no criminal activity, they're just gone. Now here's the mind experiment:
Would you value, and/or appreciate, and/or enjoy the remaining selection of your favorites more? The principle in economics is called diminishing returns, that when you get a second shirt (for example) the value of both shirts is halved.
I think this is really about feelings more than a quantitive economics thing, but address it in any way that suits your mindset. Do you like/ appreciate/enjoy the selected favorites more or the same? Just for fun -- speculations, jokes, analysis, or whatever, are welcome.

 

[lightmybriar]

Interesting thought!
Personally, the ones I would pack away receive the much more attention from me because they are later additions to my collection, and are more fine-tuned to my personal tastes that are now more developed. The ones I'd leave out I'm still very fond of, but more for sentimental reasons rather than look or smoking characteristics. So I think, for me, if it were the other way around...if my most prized pipes disappeared, then I may end up valuing the lesser ones more...hmmm...what about you?

 

[mso489]

I want to weight in, but I'll wait for more responses if possible, to not lead the witnesses, as it were.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Pretty sure I'd come to value and treasure the remaining pipes more—but also it would compel me to buy more..... Damn!

 

[sablebrush52]

As laid out, my favorites survive while my 2nd tier get wiped out. Do my favorites become even more precious to me? No, based on past experiences.
What could be interesting is to change the paradigm wherein the favorite children disappear and the also-rans survive. Would the also-rans become the new top tier, or would you resent their survival and continue to mourn for your true loves.

 

[jmill208]

The favorites survived. I'm ok with that, and don't think they are any more valuable to me.

 

[smoothsailing]

90% of my collection is estate, no real attachment other then the work I put into them, these are my daily work horses. The 10% remaining are my treasured few, gifts from my wife, daughter and family. I'm sure I would appreciate my treasured few more and they would get the attention they deserve, instead of being kept memories in a box, (which angers the lady of the house). She belives they should be smoked more then on special occasion. It would take some time to get properly acquainted with each.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I misread, thinking the favorites got wiped out, leaving the secondary batch. But if the secondary batch got wiped out, the favorites would change little if any.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

If smoking was all that I cared for, I could just buy a brick of cigars, or a carton of cigarettes. They are not merely tools to me. They are things of pleasure to me, and since I buy way more than I should, the second half of my collection is a bunch of artisan crap piles that are in the second half, because they don't meet the standards that my top tier gives me in aesthetics and performance. Nope, my second half wouldn't cut it. But, I can always buy more. Start again.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

What? ugg, this is confusing, if the crappy pipes get swooshed off the face of the world? Ummm, well, it is a shame, because numbers are important. You know, more more more... But, does it affect the way I see my best pipes? Nah. More room on the rack to continue buying more pipes.
See the pattern here... the trick is always getting more pipes. ::

 

[aimlesswanderer]

I'm not convinced this experiment is applicable to me...
All I would have left is two briars which each cost £25 new. These would be smoked more than normal while I considered whether or not to replace the cobs and other "knock about" pipes (which constitues 80% of my pipes), but I don't think I'd value the ones left any differently.
I'm not sure I truly value my pipes much at all. If it became impossible to buy new ones and I only had one or two left, I might START to value my pipes differently ...

 

[lifesizehobbit]

I admit it. It was me. I took all the pipes you left unguarded. They have been meticulously refurbished to almost new condition.
When you burn out all your so-called favorites, I will be King Pipeman. Kneel before the Pipeman, beg me to relieve your PAD.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ha ha!!

Damn you hobbit!!

 

[lightmybriar]

Hahaha all hail the hobbit, burgler extraordinaire!

 

[toobfreak]

I can't see how losing pipes I wasn't that keen about in the first place is going to make me like for favorite pipes any more! I mean, I can always go out and by several so-so pipes again, will that make me like my best pipes less?

 

[mso489]

Half of too many pipes is still more pipes than are needed, so the economics lesson here is somewhat lost, to my thinking. However, if I ended up with my most favorite pipes, and only those pipes, they would come around in the rotation more often, I'd get to know them better, and I think I would then enjoy them and value them even more. It would be a subtle shift, but I think it might work that way. Just my notion. Don't end the thread. What do others think?

 

[toobfreak]

I would not disagree.

 

[sablebrush52]

Please define "too many pipes" and provide the context. People have widely differing views on collecting pipes. It could also be said that familiarity breeds contempt and one might get bored with some of one's pipes. Pipe smokers differ considerably. Some have a few pipes and are satisfied. Others are always on the hunt for another addition. Some like to smoke one or two blends and have no interest in exploring. Others are trying out hundreds of different blends. Some smoke a bowl or two a week. Others have many bowls each day.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Another way of putting it:

There is a blue one who can't accept the green one

For living with a fat one trying to be a skinny one

And different strokes for different folks

And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo

 

[didimauw]

I used to believe that more is better. Guitars, knives, Pipes etc. But as I get older, I seriously wished I only had one of each. And I am working on diminishing all of my things these days. I'd rather have one of each item that I am truly familiar with, than multiple that I only slightly know/understand.