Swimmer963 comments on How To Have Things Correctly - Less Wrong

57 Post author: Alicorn 17 October 2012 06:10AM

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Comment author: Swimmer963 17 October 2012 04:30:02PM 0 points [-]

realized I was irrationally overvaluing the stuff just because it was mine.

I think that for some people, and some things, it may be rational to value things with 'negligible market value' just because they are theirs. Examples are knicknacks that you bought as souvenirs of an enjoyable trip, gifts that you don't use but like looking at once in a while, photos, etc... I don't personally like having souvenirs lying around, and gifts that I don't use are annoying, but I know other people who seem to get a lot of emotional comfort from physical objects.

Comment author: John_Maxwell_IV 18 October 2012 12:23:52AM *  3 points [-]

Sure. One good test might be: If you lost this item and miraculously found it again at a flea market, would you buy it back? If you would not, that suggests the item is worth less than its market price to you, and you might want to sell it for its market price (assuming that's not too difficult).

Comment author: handoflixue 17 October 2012 09:31:32PM 3 points [-]

I'd say valuing something as a memento and valuing it just-for-ownership are different traits. I routinely gift away my dishes when I move because the effort of moving them is less than the cost of replacing them. I keep a box of ticket stubs, love letters, certificates / awards, and other mementos.

That said, there's definitely a failure state where everything gets labelled a "memento" to protect it from being thrown out.