Chrys Krycho, on the business world’s uncritical stance towards revealed preference.

Unfortunately, though, many people operating from that economic frame go beyond simply observing the difference in stated preference and actual behavior. They make our “revealed preferences” normative. This is dangerous nonsense. It leads companies to ignore what users say they want in favor of what they “reveal” they want even if the latter is simply bad. And why? Because our revealed preferences are often maximally consumptive, maximally corruptible — and therefore maximally easy to abuse in the pursuit of power, wealth, or both.

“People click on these ads, therefore they must like them.” 🖕🏻

Much of the work we describe as “growing up” is learning to exercise self-control, that is: to reject what our revealed preferences show our natural inclinations to be.