Merit-based gifts

I remember reading that Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s partner, gave a gift of a few Berkshire Hathaway shares to Professor Robert Cialdini (who wrote “Influence”) just because he liked his work so much.

Which billionaire would be most likely to do the same for Professor Cowen?

What is merit?

To the extent that merit is correlated with the quantity and quality of
personal relationships, so is your holiday and birthday booty.

I’m not sure gift-giving practices evolved from feelings of egalitarianism. Whenever I think about what kind of gift would be good for a person, I ask myself what might benefit their life that they would not buy themselves.

I understand the rationality arguments about people choosing what’s best for them, and while it might be generally true, it’s certainly not specifically true. People have their blind spots. People also have their personal religions — established habits — that keep them from acquiring some things that usually don’t add utility, but might in rare circumstances.

It’s easier to see somebody’s blind spots than your own just like it’s easier to see another person’s personal problems than it is your own. So, a society of gift-givers might become stronger — in the very same way that a society of traders becomes stronger: a net benefit of utility. And in particular, there may be no other way (until pervasive AI) to achieve those utility benefits.

Eh, it’s just a thought.

To the extent that merit based gifts provide an additional positive feedback loop, I can see the value in merit based gifts. How else to express your admiration of a peer or friends work than with a nice bottle of wine, or whiskey (to be split between the gifter and giftee, of course).

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