I like teasing subtly related ideas apart. I can usually quickly decide whether or not there is a meaningful distinction and explicate it...
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...but the distinction between 'want' and 'need' has defeated my best efforts for like 6 months.
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...Best idea I've had on want vs. need: they are same psychologically at time scales > 1 yr. < 1 yr, needs are h/w accelerated, wants aren't
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Huh? It's there in the words themselves -a need is a necessity, a want is a luxury. You die without the 1st, you're sad without the 2nd
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yeah, that's what it looks like on the surface, but the boundary gets very grey and psych responses can be counter-intuitive
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Example? Do you mean the cases when people didn't learn how to tell necessities from extras (i.e. bad budgeting)?
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lots of examples that are needs at one time scale, wants on another
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Simply speaking, need or want is not a permanent property of, i.e., $5. It's a function of it's momentary mission-criticality.
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there are very few situations in modern life where you're actually under existential threat of life v. death.
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I need a bicycle, tomorrow's presentation won't work without one. I want a bicycle, it's cheaper than a car. life v death not required.

