Variable pricing, like inflation, is disconcerting to us older people. We like to think we know, at least approximately, the cost of a loaf of bread. And, although we are used to sales and “special promotions”, we like to use the “normal static” information to budget our time and money wisely.
The onslaught of variable pricing is a computer driven phenomenon, and no human brain can keep up. The fee for services like getting a ride goes up and down literally by the second. Nobody knows the true cost of a hotel or show ticket now until the exact moment of payment. It only gets worse, as restaurants and utilities and roads gleefully pile on. Mandatory tips add to the confusion.
It’s easy to understand, of course. Higher demand at certain times means _ in pure economic theory where all parties have full knowledge of everything all the time _ more efficient utilization of resources. We all understand that some of this is clearly socially beneficial.
But at some point, in a human real world, the fractal finangling becomes self-defeating. You and I do not have full knowledge always. Our tolerance becomes frayed. We cannot then use prices to wisely adjust our behavior.
Oh, I know it will only get worse. And maybe I just pine for older practices out of nostalgia. Yet I wonder if at some point the “full information” of computers becomes “full obscurity” for the humanity it is supposedly serving.
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 