Editing Intertemporal Choice (section)

== <span style="color: #FFFFFF;">Understanding</span> ==
Intertemporal choice is understood through '''Discounting''' and '''Self-Conflict'''.

'''1. The "Hyperbolic" Curve (Discounting)''':
We don't value time "Linearly."
* Between "100 days" and "101 days" from now, we are "Patient"—we will wait for a bigger reward.
* Between "Today" and "Tomorrow," we are "Impatient"—we want the reward **Now**.
* This "Hyperbolic" curve means we are "Rational" about the "Distant Future" but "Animalistic" about the "Immediate Present."

'''2. The Two Selves (The Planner and the Doer)''':
Richard Thaler's model of the brain.
* The **Planner** (Prefrontal Cortex) is the "Adult" who thinks about "Health, Savings, and Careers."
* The **Doer** (Limbic System) is the "Child" who wants "Pizza, Sex, and Video Games" right now.
* Life is a "Negotiation" between these two people. If the "Doer" wins too often, you end up "Broke and Sick." If the "Planner" wins too often, you end up "Miserable."

'''3. The "Cost" of Procrastination''':
Procrastination is an "Intertemporal Choice."
* You "Choose" the "Benefit" of "Relaxing now" over the "Cost" of "Working hard later."
* But because of "Present Bias," the "Cost of working" feels 10x "Heavier" today than it will "Tomorrow."
* When "Tomorrow" arrives, it is now the "Present," and the cost is "Heavy" again. So you "Delay" again.

'''The 'Ulysses Contract''''': In the Odyssey, Ulysses wanted to hear the "Song of the Sirens" (which makes men jump into the sea). He "Pre-committed" by "Tying himself to the mast" and "Putting wax in his sailors' ears." He "Forced" his "Future Self" to stay on the ship. This is the ultimate "Behavioral Trick" for self-control.
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