‘On the timescale of years, perseverance is to “keep working on an insanely difficult problem even though it’s inconvenient and you could be getting higher personal rewards elsewhere”.’
This is inconsistent with utility maximization assumptions. Elsewhere on O.B. it has been discussed that the pursuit of dreams can be a payoff in itself. We must notice that it is the expectation of highest personal rewards, not the rewards themselves, that drive our decision-making. Working on the seemingly very hard problems is rewarding because it is among the set of most rewarding activities available.
Eliezer said:
‘On the timescale of years, perseverance is to “keep working on an insanely difficult problem even though it’s inconvenient and you could be getting higher personal rewards elsewhere”.’
This is inconsistent with utility maximization assumptions. Elsewhere on O.B. it has been discussed that the pursuit of dreams can be a payoff in itself. We must notice that it is the expectation of highest personal rewards, not the rewards themselves, that drive our decision-making. Working on the seemingly very hard problems is rewarding because it is among the set of most rewarding activities available.