The term ‘imposter syndrome’ was first coined in 1978 by two US psychologists who called it the ‘imposter phenomenon’. They defined it as feeling like a fraud despite obvious successes and high achievements. Although this concept is mostly applied to workplaces and working professionals in various fields, it absolutely does apply in watch collecting, and I believe it signals a loss of one’s perspective – which just needs some recalibration.
The “Front Page Test” for watch collectors
The “Front Page Test” is an easy ethics standard which requires asking yourself: “How would I feel if the course of action I am considering were reported on the front page of the local newspaper or in a popular blog?”. The idea is, if you feel this would be uncomfortable or create problems for you, then the best course of action is to change the intended course of action. Simple as that.
Yak shaving and watch collecting
Have you ever heard of the term “Yak shaving”? The term was supposedly coined by Carlin Vieri from MIT, but others attribute its popularity to a Ren and Stimpy episode. Either way, I found it had some applicability to watch collecting, so I decided to share some thoughts on this; while slightly obscure and not wholly enlightening… hopefully still educational!
Lets talk about Unimatic Watches
With the recent launch of the three Unimatic x Hodinkee collaboration pieces, I have had the pleasure of seeing many new collectors join the Unimatic family. This could be due to the ‘dink’ effect – where anything Hodinkee launches is met with raging enthusiasm by those loyal sheeple who can’t get enough of their preppy aesthetic… but it is nevertheless a welcomed situation, as the brand deserves all the recognition it is getting, and more. I thought I would take some time to share my thoughts on the brand and why I love it.
The Expectation Effect
The Expectation Effect: there is a wide range of phenomena in everyday perception … where we see things in terms of the properties of objects as they are conceived, and fail to ‘notice’ those features that deviate from this conception.
Don’t argue with donkeys (A Fable)
The worst waste of time is arguing with the fool and fanatic who does not care about truth or reality, but only the victory of his beliefs and illusions. Never waste time on arguments that don’t make sense… There are people who, no matter how much evidence and evidence we present to them, are not in the capacity to understand, and others are blinded by ego, hatred and resentment, and all they want is to be right even if they are not.
Psychology of money – book summary and thoughts
I happened to see a book recommendation from a friend on Instagram last week, and decided to give it a whirl – I found it to be a very enjoyable read, particularly for the stories shared in this book. Morgan Housel makes the point that financial know-how is actually less of a hard science than you might think. Unlike in other fields, in finance an unknown petrol station attendant with a high school education might make millions, while a celebrated, Harvard-educated finance executive goes bankrupt. It all boils down to behaviour. Housel explores why psychology has more to do with positive financial outcomes than our math skills.
Do you like it, or do you want it?
It is likely that you have, at some time in your life, really wanted something… but upon finally getting it, felt rather disappointed. Pehaps you thought a career change was the solution to all your problems, but realised it wasn’t, once you had done it. Or perhaps you thought you’d like living in another country, but ended up regretting the move. Why does this happen? Why do we find a divergence between what we think something will be like, and the ultimate reality when we finally experience it?
Is watch collecting a fictional activity?
Ever since the meteoric rise of Clubhouse talks about watches or watch related topics, I can’t count the number of times I have been in a room which ended up discussing the grey market for watches, and how difficult it might be to buy a Rolex at retail price. It was pretty boring to hear…
How and why do you collect watches?
I watched a TED talk by Bill Burnett … so I decided to share some of his ideas and connect them to watches. Firstly: Why do you collect? What do you collect, exactly? How do you see your collecting journey today, in a year, in five years? Secondly: take your response to the first part, and try and find parallels with your original answer about your ideas on the meaning of life.
