Pipsqueekonomics

The other day I was watching my 4-year old son playing with his friends in the local park and had the privilage to witness a very curious form of behavior that I could probably use as the basis for a sociology thesis.

Nic is an incorrigible magpie and will grab at anything that catches his eye. It's a habit that drives CS crazy as she's quite the cleanliness Mum. So, the series of events went like this:

- Nic spies a cigarette butt, picks it up and starts examining it with utter fascination.
- His friend looks on and noticing Nic's interest, immediately makes a grab for it.
- Nic resists and this makes the friend insist even more until the two are practically wrestling over it.
- Other friends gather round like hungry jackals and hover there, hoping against hope that the precious item might fly out during the scuffle and they can make off with it.
- At no point does it occur to any of them that (a) it is actually just a filthy squashed cigarette butt and (b) this being a park in Spain, there are probably dozens more lying on the ground within a few feet of them.
- The fact that Nic and his friend want this thing means that THEY want it too.

This can only mean one of two things:

Either children are born with the deep economic understanding of stock market traders and possess an innate appreciation of what defines true value i.e. that which other people are prepared to pay.

Or stock market traders are trained to act like a bunch of petulant children who fight jealously over a bunch of crap which as often as not, has no intrinsic value whatsoever.