Saturday, June 9, 2018

Pack Rat vs. Hoarder

(I am being slightly cheeky in the post below - "your results may vary".)

Some people use the terms "pack rat" and "hoarder" interchangeably: they shouldn't. There's a clear-cut difference between the two, and we can succinctly illustrate that difference with the aid of two items:
(1) a user manual for a Mr. Coffee coffeemaker and
(2) a used (but potentially reusable) Burger King cup.
How will a pack rat, a hoarder, and a neither-a-pack-rat-nor-a-hoarder 'normal' person deal with these items?

A normal person will understand that the coffeemaker user manual has greater value than the Burger King cup, but will nonetheless throw out both items.

A pack rat will also understand that the coffeemaker user manual has greater value than the Burger King cup.
He may hold onto the Burger King cup for the short term if it's plastic and easily cleanable, but probably won't.
He'll definitely hold onto the coffeemaker user manual and will do so indefinitely (even if the coffeemaker to which it applies breaks down and is replaced with a different type of coffeemaker); he'll read it at least once from start to finish and then put it in a dedicated location from which it can be fetched at a moment's notice.

A hoarder will not really understand that the coffeemaker user manual has greater value than the Burger King cup.
He'll hold onto both items as long as he can: he'll leave the Burger King cup lying around the kitchen; he may or may not put the coffeemaker user manual in a memorable location. If space constraints ever require him to throw out one of the items, he'll think, "Well, I've never read the coffeemaker user manual but I still might use that Burger King cup," and he'll throw out the coffeemaker user manual (assuming he can find it).

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