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Big-endian and little-endian choices
Common dilemmas often pitch the small picture against the big picture, and the right choice is not necessarily obvious
Have you ever had a really bad hangover? If so, did, at the time, the thought cross your mind that you’d never drink again (or at least that you’d do so in moderation henceforth)? And how did that work out? Consuming too much alcohol is a great example of a decision where we do not have the same perception of the short-term and long-term consequences at different moments.
On the night (excessive alcohol consumption seems to be primarily a nocturnal phenomenon) itself, the utility of having another glass of wine or just one more double G&T looms large. We’re having a great time, and this is just what is needed, if not to have an even greater time, then at least to keep the great time going for another half hour or so. (Repeat as required.) Eventually, after too little sleep, we experience the negative utility of waking up with a piece of sanding paper in our mouth (which turns out to be our tongue after all), and with a headache from John O’Groats to Land’s End that will be our unwanted companion for the rest of the day.
