剁手党的福音来了！ 再买就电！

20160523ou 一中两外锵锵三人行 今日话题：剁手党的福音来了！ 再买就电！ 电手环帮你解决买买买成瘾的问题~ Lincoln: Some of us might have some trouble saving, some of us may be spending way too much, but actually there could be a “shocking” way to fix that, Yoyo. Yoyo: Exactly, it is a shocking way. A recent report says that a new bracelet has been invented to help wearers quit over-spending habits, so this wristband will give you an electric shock if you overspend. It says that the wristband would reduce people’s cravings to help put [the] brakes on one’s shopping sprees. It [is] connected to bank accounts. Once the bracelet detects a drop below a threshold that the user has previously set, it will then trigger a harmless zap to the wearers. Michael: Another thing – I mean, you talked there about the fact that it was linked with people’s bank accounts and everything, ok. I get that – you set a certain threshold, and if you go beyond that threshold, it’ll give you a zap, or whatever. Why would a bank actually encourage you not to spend money? They want you to spend as much money as possible, because then, especially if you’re paying back a credit card, then it’s more interest and everything like that. Why would they want to do that? Lincoln: Well, I think, Michael, what it is, actually, is it’s the idea that if a bank would provide this as a product, like if you were going to different banks, and you could choose one, you know maybe you have a little bit of trouble saving, and this bank says, “You know what? Actually, we have this thing for you that might actually help”, maybe you’ll choose to bank there. Michael: It’s a bit patronizing isn’t it? Lincoln: It is very patronizing! You know what it’s called? Michael: It’s called the Pavlock, I think. Lincoln: The Pavlock! Yoyo: The name is inspired by the Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov, who was known for his work in classical conditioning. Lincoln: I love that, that’s a great name, though, very clever. I’m just looking at the website for the company right now, and apparently it says it’s a bolt-emblazoned bracelet – that’s fun to say – that promises to turn your resolutions into reality by zapping you with an electric shock every time you get into a bad habit, so it’s not necessarily just over-spending, it’s actually also all the other bad habits that you have. It’s not cheap, it’s more than $250. Yoyo: That is already overspending! Lincoln: Oh, really? Yeah, maybe you should… Michael: Maybe once you buy it, you’ll put it on and then immediately you’ll get a shock for being foolish enough to spend that sort of money on a bracelet in the first place. I’m looking at the list here, and so in addition to overspending, you’ve got sleeping in, or spending too much time on certain websites, if it’s linked to your IP address, and maybe it’ll give you a short shock to remind you of what you should be doing instead. There’s another one here: overeating. I’ve no idea how that would possibly work, unless it’s linked up to your stomach somehow, like measuring your stomach acid levels. Lincoln: Yeah, this is a difficult one, because I think if it works according to an app and it’s connected to your smartphone, you have to physically [input] what you’ve eaten incorrectly, or how you’ve strayed from your diet. It hinges on you then still having the discipline to write into the app. I would put it to you that if you need this pavlock in the first place, then maybe discipline isn’t your strong point!