One thing that bothers me about Trent is the way he takes certain things and analyzes them through numbers and logic, when I really don’t think that’s the right approach. At least, not for everything.
I think there are certain things that should be approached with numbers and logic, instead of letting human emotion get in the way. Anything with investments and other financial matters like that should probably be approached in the most logical, mathematical way possible, without letting emotions like fear get in the way. When you play poker, you shouldn’t allow anger or fear or other emotions influence your play.
But I think that there are other things, such as friendships or fun or love, that really can’t be analyzed and broken down logically like a financial portfolio can. It might be surprising to hear this from a statistics major, but I’ve always listened more to my emotions than my logic. That doesn’t always produce the best results, but I think that it allows me to enjoy the good experiences more than somebody who approaches everything with a cold, logical mindset.
Trent’s recent article about the financial reasons for why a man should or shouldn’t get married is what got me thinking about this subject. This article irritated me a lot. Why does Trent make marriage, something that’s supposed to be an expression of love and dedication between two people, sound more like a business arrangement? He talks about the financial advantages of getting married. He talks about signing a prenuptial (why does he keep writing “prenupital”??) agreement if you want to protect your assets. Note that he does not use the word “love” even one time in an article about marriage! He even closes with a personal note that “marriage has been an enormous financial benefit.” What about how happy it makes you, Trent? Or do you just think about the financial benefits the marriage brought?
Or take his article on jigsaw puzzles. He talks about how he, his wife, and sometimes his eldest child work on the puzzle. But then he says, “If you finish a jigsaw puzzle that you bought new, you’ve spent about $0.50 per hour of entertainment.” Why even bother calculating that figure? If the jigsaw puzzle allows you to spend time together with your family, and buying the jigsaw puzzle doesn’t break the bank, what does it matter whether it costs $0.50 per hour or $10 per hour? Having fun, spending time with your family – these are things that you can’t put a price tag on. Unless you’re Trent, that is.
I realize that I’m more sensitive about this than most people. But it really bothers me when people take situations that are enjoyable in some way and then proceed to analyze it in some logical way. I suppose it’s because that kind of thinking feels really cold and distant to me. I associate things like logic and analysis with school, like in math class. I liked math and all, but it was a lot of thinking. And a lot of staring at cold, emotionless numbers. But with people, it’s different. You can’t just break every social interaction down into numbers. When I’m around my friends and having fun, I don’t think about why exactly I’m having a good time, or to what degree I am. Whenever someone tries to analyze situations like that where I’m having a good time, it just really ruins the mood for me. Why apply the same level of thinking and detachment to emotion and human relationships that you would to equations and theorems? It’s as if they don’t want to get caught up in the moment, and instead they want to take a step back and distance themselves from the situation. It all seems a bit… Vulcan to me.
Embrace your feelings! Live in the moment! At least that’s what I tell myself.