From Gerard Buzolic, Coolum Beach, Queensland, Australia
In her article on why we avoid effort, Amanda Ruggeri mentions the so-called IKEA effect: that we prefer a less well-made bookshelf that we have assembled ourselves over something ready-made and perfect. “Our effort,” she says, “adds value.” (5 October, p 36)
I would say we underestimate the importance of our ability to give value to people and things. Students think mathematics is bigger than they are because they struggle to understand it, but, compared with mathematics, they are worth far more. We give value to people and things by noticing them, enjoying them and then working for them. As it says in The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.”
