just ignore and let this one die

LOL

Oh and about not wanting to waste your time when looking for sex I appreciate that you are also less likely to waste the time of women who are looking for something different.

Well there's the thing: stuff is always limited in real life. You could perhaps evoke an hypothetical to the opposite to argue for your point, but that particular hypothetical would not do the job, because it does not reflect a possibly-true state of things.

Nope. We don't agree. After my post, I don't know how on earth you could come to that conclusion. Emotions play a huge role in our relationships and it's definitely for the best that they do. I'm not interested in being in a romantic or intimate relationship with someone for whom I do not have a strong emotional connection. I don't know how you can do it.

Well, it does support my argument actually. My assertion is that greed motivates people to want stuff, period, while jealousy places the emphasis on making sure one not only has stuff but that one has more stuff than one's enemies. The two emotions may result in simillar outcomes, but are still materially different. Infact, they do not always result in the same outcome.

A person motivated by greed alone will cooperate with another in a scheme from which they both may profit but which neither will profit from without cooperation.

For example, person A offers person B, a greedy person, a deal whereby both can make $100,000 each, but neither will make anything if they do not cooperate. The greedy person will cooperate. Obviously, they would like the whole $200,000 - but they know they will get nothing without cooperating. Perhaps they will try to cheat person A later, who knows? But they do not necessarily begrudge A profitting - they merely wish to acquire as much total profit for themselves, regardless of the source of said profit.

A person motivated by jealousy would rather lose out on total profit themselves, than see others profit. They are concerned with their gains relative to others, not their total gains.

So person A offers person B, a jealous person, the same deal as above. However, person B, being motivated by jealousy, would rather engage in a solo venture that netted him $50,000, then make $100,000 and see A profit.

To a jealous person, the second scenario is better because he comes out $50,000 ahead of person A, even though he essentially lost $50,000 in the process.

So greed and jealousy are close cousins then. However, greed is concerned with total acquisition while jealousy is concerned with acquisition relative to that of those around you. Quite possibly, then, greed is the more noble of the two (or least ignoble).

Jealousy seems entirely illogical in the above example. However, when one considers the finite nature of resources, as you have mentionned, one can then see that jealousy can help motivate people to ensure their enemies do not acquire resources that they may later use against them - even if it means that those resources are destroyed in the process. Hence, it is entirely logical to begrudge others having stuff, if stuff equates to power and influence.

I was talking about fear and jealousy specifically. I don't claim to be an expert, but I'm pretty sure a relationship based on fear would be considered unhealthy by most people.

I'd go so far as to say for myself that my strong emotional connections are the things I value most in life. All the other stuff is just to keep me alive and comfortable so I can enjoy the people in my life. (And to give me the illusion that I seem cool to them.)

Personally, I want the stuff.

I find I feel best and function best when I minimize the fear and jealousy in myself.

Well me too, but I don't think it would really give me much satisfaction if there were no other people to show it off to and or share it with.

Unless confronted by lions. Fear helps there. It stops you getting ate.

So, like, Gollum was jealous, not greedy?

Lol QFT but I'm pretty sure that when I'm confronted with lions there will be more danger of too much paralyzing fear than not enough of the escape provoking kind.

Sometimes "jealousy" is used to mean the emotion of not wanting to share what one has (like the Gollum) and sometimes it seems to mean the same as "envy". "Greedy" usually seems to mean wanting more than one needs or deserves.

Greed and jealousy often go as a pair, but it is still wrong to confuse the two. More accurately, jealousy cannot exist without greed, but greed can exist without jealousy. I, for one, want as much stuff as I can possibly acquire - but I won't feel bad if you manage to acquire more than me.

Gollum, however, was a simple creature. Really, he was neither jealous nor greedy in the strictest sense. The ring was all he wanted - not gold or jewels or power. If there had been two rings, he would have been happy to have just the one I suspect.

True, but all that adrenaline will help you run faster.

And all the early morning 5k practice runs. I'll still be better off if I can calm down enough to come up with some effective guile though, even though I'm pretty sure I'd beat my personal best if a lion were after me.

Of course, all that goes out the window if the lions have guns and SUVs

And me in my skimpy shorts and top.

If only I weren't dead inside, I could make a lascivious comment about that.

Now, see, that comment just makes me want to cry....

I'll be grateful for small favors lol.

And it made me laugh

Conan's actually just trying to convince himself... He really is just a big softy. I see right through him.

I assure you that underneath my icy, brittle, prickly exterior there is an icy, brittle prickly interior.

Seriously... the seriousness is drowning the thread... can we talk about something light and airy - like- hmm- flesh eating desease?