Can Money Really Buy Happiness?

I found this video about a talk by Benjamin Wallace about his experiences in trying out some of the most expensive things in the world. What I found most interesting is the last part wherein he mentions a study he read which sorta affirms the fact that certain labels or prices can change one’s perspective, even taste, towards an object.

Another point that I liked was how you could see here was how relative the perspective of value is. An expensive shirt may be worth it to others because they justify paying the price tag by saying it’s a high quality shirt, it’s made with rare materials or because it’s designed by an artist, while on the flip side, you have another person saying it’s not worth it because of the same exact reasons. A lot of people tend to think that their opinions matter, when most of the time, it only matters towards your own preferences. Different things make different people happy and I think there would be less conflicts in this world if people would lay off in imposing their preferences to others.

Anyway, it’s really a cool video to watch. It’s a bit long, around 14 minutes but I believe worth the time spent.

The Perfect Office Chair?!

Last weekend, while strolling along Powerplant Mall, Rockwell, there was a display area that showcased ergonomic chairs and furnitures, particularly for children. The showcase was for the new store than opened on the upper level called Ergrokidz. On one side they also had some office furniture displayed and an office chair caught my eye. It was a chair that resembled the Herman Miller Aeron office chair and even the salesperson on hand agreed with me that there were similarities. This chair was brought in by Contract Design and was selling for around Php 32,000 or US$ 711 while the original Aeron chair, depending on the size, would probably cost from US$ 600 to US$ 1,000 which is equivalent to Php 27,000 to Php 45,000.

I first came across the Aeron chair when I chanced it upon seeing snippets of various design firms’ offices such as Fragment Design and Cubism Inc. I thought the design was cool and the seat is covered by a mesh that looks almost metal-like called Pellicle. It is considered to be good for the back and posture of the user as the seat has an ergonomic shape  and the height and back can be easily adjusted. The side arms can be adjusted as well, including the option of totally hiding the arms.

It has been said that the Aeron chair was the symbol of the IT bubble in the 90s and a status symbol for many offices. I’ve came across many reviews and while some are unhappy with the comfort-ability, most are pretty happy with their chairs.  Or they might just be forcing themselves to be happy because they shelled out a lot of money for the chair, hah!

Maybe someday, I shall try it out(I checked their site and they do have dealers here in Manila). If I have the extra cash to blow and it feels good enough, maybe I’ll invest in one.