Hacker News Reader

What about the hedonic treadmill? You say you're happy with your big TV, but wouldn't you be even happier with a still bigger TV? You like your luxury sedan for commuting, but wouldn't you be even happier if you had a Ferrari to drive on the weekends?

View on HN

I like to think of it as a recursive function instead of a treadmill.

You get a TV that fits your house. But you want a bigger house. Then, the TV seems too small, the house seems bare, and your car is not nice enough for the neighbhorhood. So you get a bigger TV and fancier car.

Now, you have too much stuff in your house, it is too small again! So, you get a bigger house...

Yeah but what's the termination condition?

Death.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com