Almost two years after writing this post, this is still a concept I encounter relatively often. Maybe less so in myself, as, I like to think, I have sufficiently internalized the idea to not fall into the “fake alternative trap” anymore very often. But occasionally this comes up in conversations with others, when they’re making plans, or we’re organizing something together.
With some distance, and also based on some of the comments, I think there is room for improvement:
the Gym membership example is a tricky one, as “getting a gym membership to go to the gym” is, for many people, also kind of a fake option, as they get the membership and pay for it, but still end up not going to the gym anyway. That example works for people who are more likely to go to the gym than to work out at home. But if you would in expectation exercise no more at the gym than you would at home, then paying a gym membership is not helpful.
Maybe an example that applies to more people would be studying at the (university) library vs studying at home? The former works better for many. So studying at home would potentially be a fake alternative. Just because you could in principle study for 10 hours a day at home, doesn’t mean you actually end up doing that.
I was and still am a bit unhappy about the “Option A—Option B—Do nothing” diagram. Somehow it’s harder to read than its simplicity would suggest.
The AI generated title image doesn’t really convey the idea of of the post. But back then, AI image generation was still more limited than today, and it was difficult enough to even get that image to look acceptable.
But besides that, I think it holds up. It’s a relevant concept, “fake alternatives” seems like a good handle to represent it, and the post is short and focused.
Almost two years after writing this post, this is still a concept I encounter relatively often. Maybe less so in myself, as, I like to think, I have sufficiently internalized the idea to not fall into the “fake alternative trap” anymore very often. But occasionally this comes up in conversations with others, when they’re making plans, or we’re organizing something together.
With some distance, and also based on some of the comments, I think there is room for improvement:
the Gym membership example is a tricky one, as “getting a gym membership to go to the gym” is, for many people, also kind of a fake option, as they get the membership and pay for it, but still end up not going to the gym anyway. That example works for people who are more likely to go to the gym than to work out at home. But if you would in expectation exercise no more at the gym than you would at home, then paying a gym membership is not helpful.
Maybe an example that applies to more people would be studying at the (university) library vs studying at home? The former works better for many. So studying at home would potentially be a fake alternative. Just because you could in principle study for 10 hours a day at home, doesn’t mean you actually end up doing that.
I was and still am a bit unhappy about the “Option A—Option B—Do nothing” diagram. Somehow it’s harder to read than its simplicity would suggest.
The AI generated title image doesn’t really convey the idea of of the post. But back then, AI image generation was still more limited than today, and it was difficult enough to even get that image to look acceptable.
But besides that, I think it holds up. It’s a relevant concept, “fake alternatives” seems like a good handle to represent it, and the post is short and focused.