It's my 21st! My last important birthday until 25, when I tell myself, "Goodness, should you be getting married soon?" 3o, when I ask myself if I've grown up yet, and 40, when I start to feel old. Then 80, when I actually will be old.
Anyways, if the thought had occurred to someone to get me a 21 years old type birthday present (a la cocktail shaker, wine stopper, drink recipe book, etc.) you can if you really want to, but I drink so rarely that there's sort of...no...point.
Instead!! I'll provide a couple of unreasonable options.
1) A compact printer/scanner/copier!
2) A cute bike!
3) A bed!
4) A couch!
So, haha, yeah, the long and short of that list, is that you don't need to get me anything. :)
Sam, good question! That's one that I was asking myself. (He brought up those crazy heroic situations where people knowingly go into a situation where they'll die in order to help someone else.) There are different theories that talk about helping behavior. One is evolutionary theory, which everyone (me) is bored of. Then there's social exchange theory, which is very pessimistic, and says that people only help when the costs outweigh the benefits, and thus there is no altruism. But if that's the case, then what about that situation that you mentioned, Sam? Obviously, the costs outweigh the benefits, and depending on the situation, doesn't fit with evolutionary theory.
But do not despair! Batson (a former minister) proposed the empathy-altruism hypothesis. As you can probably guess by its name, the idea's that when you feel empathy for a person, you'll help for purely altruistic reasons. If you don't feel empathy, though, social exchange theory comes into play.
Beeedtime.
