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Dear economists
亲爱的经济学家：
As an economics student, I look to impress my girlfriend on a budget, and I know I am not alone. When it comes to choosing the wine to have with dinner, on the rare occasion that I get to take my girlfriend out, I avoid going for the cheapest bottle, as this makes me look, er, cheap. So instead I go for the second-cheapest bottle. But now I hear that restaurants, having cottoned on to people like me, ensure the second-cheapest bottle is highly profitable, overpriced plonk. My best response now is to go for the third-cheapest bottle, at least until everyone else does the same. Or is it? Based on price alone, what is the best bottle to buy?
作为一名经济学专业的学生，我希望花不多的钱，就博得我女朋友的欢心，我知道有这种想法的不止我一个。我偶尔会带我女朋友出去吃饭，在挑选与晚餐搭配的红酒时，我会避开最便宜的那瓶，因为它会显得我……呃，抠门儿。所以我会选择第二便宜的那瓶。但是现在我听说，餐馆已经摸透了像我这样人的心思，因此第二便宜的那瓶一定是标价过高、很有赚头的劣质酒。就目前而言，我能想到的最佳对策，就是选择第三便宜的那瓶，至少在别人也都这么做之前是如此。这个办法有效吗？若仅考虑价格因素，买哪一瓶最好？
William Nicolson
威廉·尼克尔森(William Nicolson)
Dear William,
亲爱的威廉，
You assume that the price of the wine and its quality can be neatly separated out. This seems reasonable, but is wrong. Price changes the very experience of quality. Neuro-economists have found, for instance, that while placebo painkillers work, they work best if the subject thinks they are expensive. Energy drinks give you less energy if you buy them at a discount. (Yes, really.) And of course, wine tastes better if you believe that it is expensive.
你在假设红酒的价格与品质之间可以彻底没有关联。这种假设看似合乎情理，但其实是错误的。价格可以改变你对品质的实际体验。比如神经经济学家发现，虽然服用安慰剂也能止痛，但只有在实验对象认为它们价格不菲时，它们才能发挥最佳效果。你打折买来的能量饮料，为你提供的能量会变少。（没错，是真的。）如果你相信一瓶红酒价格不菲，那它带给你的口感当然也会更好。
One possibility is to conceal the price of wine from your girlfriend and tell her you"re buying the expensive stuff when in fact you are buying the house red. This is a white lie: many people prefer the taste of cheap wine in blind tastings, and by claiming it is expensive you will quite genuinely improve the way she thinks it tastes.
可以考虑不让你女朋友知道红酒的价格，告诉她你点了很贵的东西，但其实你点了店里自产的红酒。这是个善意的谎言：很多人在盲品时会更偏爱廉价红酒的口感，若你再告诉她这酒很贵，那你将实实在在地提升她所认为的这瓶酒的品质。
If your girlfriend knows nothing about wine, this will work. If she knows more than you about wine – which seems likely – then why not invite her to choose? You"ll get a better bottle. And if she blithely splashes your money around, console yourself: you will have learnt a lesson about her that would have been even more costly to learn later.
如果你女朋友对红酒一无所知，那么这个办法就管用。如果她对红酒了解得比你多——看起来很有可能——那么为什么不让她来选呢？她选的肯定比你好。假如她面不改色地让你在这瓶酒上大掏一笔，那你应该聊以自慰：她给你上了一课，而这一课如果放到以后，学费甚至会更加昂贵。
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