The Psychology Of Collecting

The Squirrel's Dilemma

"Thus, it may be that compulsive hoarding and compulsive gambling can be at least partially explained by evolutionary bet hedging. In its strictest form, if diverse gambling and hoarding behaviors were the result of randomized phenotypic realizations of a single genotype, we would not expect to see any influence of heredity in these behaviors. In fact, available evidence suggests that the appearance of these disorders is at least partially sustained by genetic diversity rather than by random phenotypic realizations."

Interesting thoughts, but how much is enough in a catastrophe. By its nature that is unknowable. On the other hand, I collect cds and have the perfect amount of them. Until tomorrow.

If your heirs don't share your passion, and they seldom do, your collected treasures eventually end up being somebody else's junk when you pass. Unfortunately, the frivolity of collecting doesn't become apparent until our senior years when mortality becomes more of an issue. On the flip side, most collections are a healthy obsession, and the collectors derive a great deal of pleasure from them while they are alive. 

Great thoughts....  but more specifically,  I focus on collecting the "greatest hits" of an artist/group and their top albums/songs.....  usually in SACD format.

+1 rcm

I have a part-time job for the summer helping to clear out and sell old farts - like me - stuff. That stuff is hummels - I had NO idea what they were in June lol - old soda dispensers from the 1950s that weight hundreds of pounds, Pez candy dispensers - several hundred of these at one house - , old soda bottles, records - mostly in bad shape - and lots of other stuff. As the saying goes "one man's garbage is another man's gold" - and vice versa.