My guess: The purpose of crying is to make people around you more likely to help you.
So if you don’t have shoes, there is a chance that crying in public will make someone give you money to buy the shoes. But if there is a person without feet nearby, your chances become smaller, because people will redirect their limited altruist budgets to that other person. Your crying becomes less profitable.
… Alright, but… that’s a separate point to make altogether. It’s not a quote about making yourself as likely as possible to get others to help you, and, I would say, it doesn’t have to be; it’s a quote about how other people’s negative experiences influence the way you feel about yours.
My guess: The purpose of crying is to make people around you more likely to help you.
So if you don’t have shoes, there is a chance that crying in public will make someone give you money to buy the shoes. But if there is a person without feet nearby, your chances become smaller, because people will redirect their limited altruist budgets to that other person. Your crying becomes less profitable.
… Alright, but… that’s a separate point to make altogether. It’s not a quote about making yourself as likely as possible to get others to help you, and, I would say, it doesn’t have to be; it’s a quote about how other people’s negative experiences influence the way you feel about yours.