Are Our Brains Wired to Value Unnecessary Effort?
I’ve been pondering something lately about human behavior, especially in the context of cognitive science. It seems like we often put a lot of effort into things that aren’t strictly necessary like adding gold leaf to parts of an object that no one will ever see. It makes me wonder if our brains are hardwired to crave this kind of “wasted” effort as a way to signal status or capability.
What do you all think? Is there an evolutionary or psychological reason we find value in these displays, even when they don’t serve a practical purpose? I’d love to hear your thoughts or any examples you’ve come across.