A Morning Before Coffee

The process of obtaining the textbook for UWP 101 began 8:30 in the morning for me. As I woke up, my eyes barely open and my body still wrapped in the comfort of my blanket, I opened myself to two options. The first option was to get out of bed, go through my morning routine, and head to the bookstore to purchase the textbook before class. My second option was to sleep for another thirty minutes.

When given a choice between any number of options, humans pride themselves in being able to put logic before instinct to determine the best decision. Being raised an American capitalist, I then determined the pros and cons of each option to find which would yield the most benefits with the least costs. The first option, getting the book before class, required that I leave the comfort of my bed and leave my apartment without the company of my roommate, who is also in the same morning class but was still sleeping at the time. The benefits of that option was that I reduce the risk of the bookstore being out of textbooks before I purchase one. The second option of sleeping in offered me a tempting lure of the happiness that is my futon, and the elongation of the momentary bliss that is sleeping until the last minute. The difference between the two options was simply a trade between abstract benefits and physical materials. Now, all that remained was the simple task of weighing out the benefits and costs of each option. Materials and services always outweigh abstract ideas in a capitalistic viewpoint, so the first option was simply the optimal one.

Simple things become complicated very easily. It was the risk of not obtaining the textbook that I was trading for the comfort of sleep rather than the book itself. Now, the amount of risk must be considered before I can make my decision. This includes estimating the number of classmates who would buy the book before class and the decision should depend accordingly to that. Game theory states that the optimum situation would be one where everyone in the class decides to sleep in and buy the book after class; this is the situation that I should follow. However, this only applies if everyone in the class was in the same circumstances as myself and understood the benefits of game theory. Assuming a normal distribution, elementary statistics state that only half of the class would buy the book before class, meaning that there should be books remaining in the bookstore for me if I went there right after class. Sun Tzu states in The Art of War "Speed is the essence of war. Take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness...". So I should choose option one after all?

Sunlight hit my eyes, and I suddenly realized how warm I was in my blanket. The calculations, the theory, and the textbook can wait. I closed my eyes and succumbed to my morning drowsiness. Sun Tzu can be evaluated when I'm not sleeping.