1/ Time homeostasis (productivity gains lead to no change in the amount of time spent on a given activity) is probably linked to risk homeostasis (eg 🚗 ABS made us drive faster keeping the same risk, rather than cashing in safety gains)
This says a lot about why we do chores
This says a lot about why we do chores
2/ I hold the theory that people take risks in an activity in order to gain resources which can be spent to manage risks outside of that activity.
Eg we drive faster to gain time to arrive on time at the meeting to manage career risk.
Eg we drive faster to gain time to arrive on time at the meeting to manage career risk.
3/ It would follow that chores are mostly a way to gain resources which have nothing to do with the chores themselves. For example, status (as pointed out in the linked article), health (cleaner house), etc.
More on this paper: luca-dellanna.com/the-rationale-…
More on this paper: luca-dellanna.com/the-rationale-…
4/ Parkinson's law ("Work expands to fill the time available") shows us that work is seldom about the job to be done.
More often, it's about managing risks that reside outside of the object of the job (e.g., social risk, career risk, financial risk, reproductive risk, etc).
More often, it's about managing risks that reside outside of the object of the job (e.g., social risk, career risk, financial risk, reproductive risk, etc).
5/ Of course, there are exceptions.
Just like some people do go to dance clubs to dance, but many more go there to manage social risk and reproductive risk.
Just like some people do go to dance clubs to dance, but many more go there to manage social risk and reproductive risk.
6/ The cost homeostasis hypothesis:
Whenever an activity is performed to manage risks outside of it, efficiency gains* at that activity lead to equal input & higher output, rather than lower input & equal output.
(*) efficiency gains = lower costs, be it time, risk, $$, etc.
Whenever an activity is performed to manage risks outside of it, efficiency gains* at that activity lead to equal input & higher output, rather than lower input & equal output.
(*) efficiency gains = lower costs, be it time, risk, $$, etc.
7/ More precisely: efficiency gains in an activity lead to equal input and higher output (as opposed to lower input and equal output), all other things equal, *in the measure* the rewards of that activity are a resource used to manage risks outside of that activity.
8/ (Just an hypothesis; looking for counterexamples)
