Present Bias

"The tendency to give stronger weight to payoffs that are closer to the present time when considering trade-offs between two future moments."

My favorite version of this is: Should I go to sleep NOW - just because it’s 10:30 and I’m getting up at 6 - or should I eat the brownie AND the Funyuns® and stay up watching Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (which is not a very good movie, but does have Jesse Eisenberg playing a really awesome Lex Luthor) until 1 am?

The answer? I’ll be FINE tomorrow! I deal with lack of sleep really easily and it hardly has any impact! Late night servings of sugar and malto-dextrin HELP me sleep better AND I think less weight is gained from food that is unwrapped in the light of a midnight moon - I read that somewhere.

But then, how come the next day when I get up exhausted and remember that I am OVER 50 YEARS OLD, no longer live in a dorm, haven’t dealt with lack of sleep well for 20 years, am groggy all day, and grouchy to everyone, and feel 8 pounds thicker around the middle - it’s only THEN that I remember... that all this happened exactly the same way last Tuesday... and the Thursday before... and... yes, and Monday before that....

Otherwise known as Night-Scott screws Morning-Scott.

Can I get a witness?

What are the future payoffs you discount for present Funyuns® ?