Illogicalities

I have always been logical and analytical, perhaps that’s why I became a research psychologist. So it upsets me when I see things that seem illogical. Here are a few examples of things I have bought that don’t make sense to me:

• My husband has a prescription for Rosuvastatin, which is a generic name for Crestor. His last prescription cost $5, and when he needed a refill I called the drugstore. When I went to pick it up, it was a 30 day supply for $55. What? How could that be? Directed to call the insurance company by the pharmacist, they told me that I had tried to fill it before the due date, I would just need to wait a few more days. I did, but when the drugstore called to say it was ready, the 30-day supply was still $55. So I called the insurance company again and was informed that the high cost was because I had gotten a 30-day supply. If I ordered a 90 day supply it would be less. So I did just that, and she was right- it cost me $5. Hmmm… $55 for 30 pills and $5 for 90 pills. How could that be right?
• Our favorite cookies from the supermarket are oatmeal raisin cookies. My local Gristedes has it in two sizes- the 18 ounce size is $5.99 and the 10 oz size is $7.99! What? I double checked- the same brand, the same cookie… no explanation. I mentioned this to the store manager, and he just shrugged his shoulders. Unfortunately, sometimes if they are out of the $5.99 package, since I know my husband loves these cookies, I buy the smaller $7.99 package. I suppose this happens often enough so that the company has decided to continue both sizes. But I don’t get it. Maybe it’s just me, and most people don’t notice how strange this is.
• I recently opened a bottle of Vitamin D 40mcg… and when I took off the silver top- the bottle was more than half empty, and with no cotton. I have seen that before and don’t understand why they do that. It’s not like opening a cereal box and seeing some dead space because the contents has settled- you are still getting the product weight you paid for. Why do some medications come with so much empty space? They could save on plastic by just using a bottle size that fits the product, and they could put the FDA required information in an insert or in smaller print. Do they think if it’s in a small bottle that people will be less likely to lose it, or that they are willing to pay more because the bottle is large? Beats me.
• Sometimes it’s hard to find a size Small. Whether it’s detergent or other items… sizes often start with Large, then go to Giant. Why is there such resistance to Small? Perhaps because I live in a NYC apartment, Small appeals to me, since it means that it is not likely to take up much space. For some products in the pharmacy I find Large and Travel size, with the former needing a shopping cart to transport and the latter fitting into a small purse. Why the big gap between the two sizes? And my local pizza store has Regular and Large size pizzas… but sometimes, when there are just two of us, each eating two slices,  a Small size (with four slices) will do.  So this all doesn’t make sense to me. Maybe there’s a marketing strategy that I’m not aware of,  but I think that sometimes Small is better.

I have some of my own individual, idiosyncratic illogicalities. I have no problem with them, but in all fairness I thought some should be mentioned:

• I put on perfume before a zoom call. If it’s an important business call, I use my favorite perfume, for others, just any cologne in the house will do.
• We subscribe to several magazines, and I need to read each magazine sequentially in the order in which it was published. Sometimes a new issue of a magazine is delivered that has an article I am particularly interested in, but I need to finish the prior issues before I can get to it. It’s a frustration that’s self-created, and a little compulsive, but at least it helps me catch up on my reading.

So what is there to conclude? Things are not always logical- in the world and within ourselves. Sometimes it’s good to take note of those that bother you (or may increase your costs), and take action to correct them. And other times, especially if they provide some level of satisfaction or sense of control over a troubling world (like perfume for a zoom call) just enjoy and ignore them.