Post #1752839
2026-04-28 17:11 UTC
Replies (21)
-
@derbadian@mas.to 2026-04-29 14:49
Well this blew up 🤯 If you already know Sir Terry Pratchett's work, I hope it was a lovely reminder of what a genius he was. If you've never heard of Sir Terry Pratchett, I hope you feel inspired to check out the Discworld series of books, which honestly just get better and better as they go. #TerryPratchett #Books #Discworld
-
@billiglarper@rollenspiel.social 2026-04-28 17:48
@derbadian Thanks for the boot theory quote! I've been looking on it for a while now, but couldn't find it on the usual quote pages.
-
@michaelgemar@cosocial.ca 2026-04-28 18:59
@derbadian @count_01 He was so clear-eyed about human failings, and yet so humane.
-
@brouhaha@mastodon.social 2026-04-28 19:23
@derbadian Being poor is very expensive!
-
@em_and_future_cats@mastodon.social 2026-04-28 20:17
@derbadian This is very true logic, unfortunately 😿
-
@leipoa@det.social 2026-04-28 20:53
@derbadian May his name be forever remembered. We've just finished reading "Lords and Ladies" to the children a. because it is great fun and b. to counterbalance the adoration for elves caused by a Lord of the Rings marathon at our local cinema (which was great fun as well).
-
@EinsPossum@chaos.social 2026-04-28 21:28
@derbadian If one is able to extrapolate this to "being able to spend more can save you money in the long run" instead of "expensive products are better value" then its a useful idea. Being able to buy property saves you rent. Being able to pay fancy healthcare potentially saves you from suffering&paying more from getting really sick.
-
@renardboy@mastodon.social 2026-04-28 23:47
@derbadian aka "being poor is expensive." Even if you play your bad hand really well and you save up for the better boots and then use the saved money to save up for the better gloves and then use the saved money to save up for the better coat, and after years you have all the better stuff, meanwhile some other guy had all of it from the get-go, and now he has the ultra-better stuff.
-
@the_turtle@mastodon.sdf.org 2026-04-28 23:48
@derbadian somebody wrote a couple of decades ago that middle-class people were fucked because they'd become convinced they were spending money on "investments" when they were actually just expenses. Houses. Cars. Babies. Furniture.
-
@patzer@mastodon.green 2026-04-29 00:01
@derbadian
-
@RustyRing@mastodon.scot 2026-04-29 00:39
@derbadian His Marxist analysis of Christmas (Hogswatchnight, in his world) was also genius. Man knew his economics.
-
@johnefrancis@cosocial.ca 2026-04-29 01:01
@derbadian things are pretty much this in the 21st century but with investment and tax efficiency.
-
@rebelyn2@c.im 2026-04-29 01:06
@derbadian I use this anecdote to explain systemic poverty to people all the time. Terry Pratchett was the best. RIP.
-
@synlogic4242@social.vivaldi.net 2026-04-29 01:15
@derbadian poor def have higher COL for necessities. like a trap
-
@Jagermo@defcon.social 2026-04-29 04:41
@derbadian And he is right. I saved up and bought a pair of really nice boots from a shoemaker. Cost me a lot. But i have them over 10 years now, still good as new and I only had to replace the sole once for about 50 bucks. I love those shoes and they keep my feet dry and save me money.
-
@farah@beige.party 2026-04-29 07:19
@derbadian This theory is brilliant! I have a corollary to this theory- people who can afford all the bells and whistles of a product actually don’t use those products anyway, because they can literally get other people to get their things done, so the whole thing is moot. Tiered product options are just scams by capitalism
-
@eestileib@tech.lgbt 2026-04-29 08:27
@derbadian I read this as the bourgeois being better off than the poor for this reason; a moderate stake lets you live like that. The rich buy stupidly overpriced boots to gatekeep, it's not the same.
-
@rebelrebel62@mstdn.social 2026-04-29 11:43
@derbadian @onepict #gnuterrypratchett
-
@wiredfool@fosstodon.org 2026-04-29 13:13
@derbadian What I find so hilarious about that is that Vimes doesn’t like nice boots. He’s a barefoot shoes fan (to use nonfictional modern terms). He wants soles thin enough to be able to read the cobbles and pavers as he walks the beat, (or walked somewhere with a blindfold) so that he can feel the texture of the city and know exactly where he is.
-
@iwoakura@twit.social 2026-04-30 21:33
@derbadian To me a "season or two" meant an average of about two to three pairs of shoes per year (20-30 $AM) since there are four seasons. In ten years that would be 200-300 $AM… First time reading this it bugged me to no end, until I realized this was intentional. Then I found Sam Vimes Math quite charming, because it tells so much about his character. GNU Terry Pratchett
-
@xmacdonald@mstdn.ca 2026-05-02 03:02
@derbadian Every time I buy shoes I think of this. What a genius he was to do that to me.