The lesson of these experiments is not that people are shortsighted or shallow but that their preferences aren’t consistent over time. We want to watch the Bergman masterpiece, to give ourselves enough time to write the report properly, to set aside money for retirement. But our desires shift as the long run becomes the short run.
—
James Surowiecki, “Later: what does procrastination tell us about ourselves?”, The New Yorker, 11 October 2010
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/10/11/101011crbo_books_surowiecki
