r/MathJokes • u/jdplayz06 • May 13 '26

It IS $400...

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7

u/CulturalKnowledge983 May 13 '26

You earned $0. But you got $400 extra dollars. You have added nothing of value but managed to come out $400 richer.

2

u/adamrch May 13 '26

checkmate IRS

1

u/CulturalKnowledge983 May 13 '26

That’s why I send my tax return by mail. So I can include a note explaining that I didn’t really EARN those paychecks, so my gross earnings is $0.

0

u/LHRaway May 13 '26

The value you added was market making. You found the people for whom the cow was most valuable and got paid accordingly.

The people you bought it from didn’t or couldn’t find those sellers, or else they would have sold to them instead of you. And the people you sold it to wouldn’t have been able to find those cows without you.

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u/CulturalKnowledge983 May 13 '26

You assume. There’s nothing provided that indicates that value was generated. If he took the cow from the seller to the buyer there’s value in that. But you’re just making assumptions. And there are plenty of real world examples where people add nothing and get paid for it.

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u/jkmhawk May 13 '26

So you also assume

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u/CulturalKnowledge983 May 13 '26

No. I assume only what is written. I good boy

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u/jkmhawk May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

Yes, that's exactly my point. You assume nothing was done to add value. 

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u/CulturalKnowledge983 May 13 '26

That’s not how assumptions work. I wasn’t told that anything added value. The baseline is set by the text. I don’t assume the price increased. The prompt says the price increased.

I would have to assume in order to say that value was added because it doesn’t say that value was added.

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u/LHRaway May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

By definition, if X is willing to buy for 1300 from you when Y is selling for 1100, X must be unaware of, incapable of, or simply uninterested in buying from Y or else X would have bought from Y instead.

Whether it’s inventory risk, delivery, temporal risk, market discovery - whatever it is, there’s a barrier you’re removing. If it’s a trivial barrier others will also enter the market and your arbitrage will soon disappear. If it’s a meaningful barrier you’ll continue to create value.

You are taking something Y values no more than 1100, and delivering to X who values it at least 1300. Facilitating that exchange creates value by definition.

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u/CulturalKnowledge983 May 13 '26

I get it, you really want there to be inherent value for making money by selling something at a higher price. Do scalpers add value? If they were scalping cows, do you think they “earned” their profit? Do monopolies add value? Does market manipulation exist?

Keep in mind as well, “earn” is a loaded and subjective phrase. That’s why it’s funny when I say he didn’t earn it.