Provide the best for our kids, what is the best investment, the best charkwayteow, etc etc...
And you know what... all this is pretty much rubbish.
Not everything is quantifiable.
It's pretty easy if you're talking about athletics.
Who runs faster is the best... assuming no performance enhancers.
But in real life, this term becomes really grey.
Like when people say they want to provide the best for their kids.
So they provide everything that money can buy, or organic food, or first class plane tickets...
But is this really the best for the child?
How will the child handle life in future?
So WHAT is the best for a child? In what context?
Or what is the best investment?
A lot of people ask for low risk high return... yea right -.-
Everything is risk adjusted for.
Bitcoin would have been a good "investment".
US treasuries is also a good investment.
Everything depends on what you want for what purpose.
And food... this is one of those things which I really roll my eyes at.
Now. I like good food. I like lobsters, crabs, abalone, foie gras, etc.
But when people say this charkwayteow is absolutely THE BEST.
And they queue 1 hour for it... no... seriously. There's NO charkwayteow that's THE BEST that's worth it.
There's no charkwayteow that after I eat it I'll feel totally ecstatic or erupt with euphoria.
There ARE bad charkwayteows, there are average ones, there are good ones, and there are those better than good ones.
And like most other products. It's easy to determine the bad and average ones.
There are quite a number of good ones, and a few which people deem THE BEST.
And also like all other products. The "cost" of THE BEST is usually not worth it.
At the upper end of premium products, the cost to obtain that extra 5% of best is usually very high.
For example, you can buy a Mercedes, or you could buy a Camry. A Camry is a good large vehicle and cheaper than a Mercedes. The extra utility that a Mercedes can offer over a Camry is minimal, but the price differential is a lot.
(Well not in Singapore, but percentage wise, overseas, the price differential is a lot. In Singapore, due to COE, percentage wise, the price differential is not a lot.)
Especially for food, the best is extremely subjective. Different people like different things.
For me, I'm happy enough eating slightly above average charkwayteow, if there's a good one wherever I'm eating that's a nice surprise as well. But I won't make an effort to GO to the place and queue up for an hour just to eat it... NO tks... that's really not worth it for me.
So once again, what is the context? I have no interest to spend the "cost" of queuing up or traveling to that place, I don't have a great love for charkwayteow.
Even if we talk in terms of flavour alone, there will be a few BEST charkwayteows in Singapore. Cos there will always be different preferences with different people.
So what's all this obsession about the best?
A lot of things needs to be looked at with relation to something else.
Like the cost, or the effect it has one someone.
For example, a parent may want to give the best to a child, the best that money can buy. But is this good for the child? What will be the effect of giving/providing certain things to a child at a young age?
Or in investments, risk and reward, there is no real BEST... in financial products, insurance, everything really depends on needs and risk profile.
Or in the best food, there's always a cost, and very seldom do we look at things without looking at the cost at the same time.
Now, of course, it's ok to want more, or what to be better.
But often, I hear people want the best this, or the best that, or they want to eat the best whatever.
And it's thrown around so frivolously, and it's like everyone wants it.
But... what's wrong with second best?
It's like... Apple was the icon of innovation when Steve Jobs was around.
And Samsung always pretty much followed behind.
And they become the best at following behind. But not at innovation during the Steve Jobs era.
So I think it's important not just to cheaply say to want the best of this or that.
But rather to assess the situation, the context, the cost, the secondary effect, and then decide on the best after taking into account of all that considerations.
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