How important is experience?

Imagine someone tells you:

“Material possessions amount to nothing and can lead to a life devoid of meaning.”

If that someone is a 45-year-old multi-millionaire who owns or used to own several houses and supercars, that statement may have a certain meaning to you. If that someone is a middle-class 25-year-old living in a one-bedroom apartment in New York and working an office job, that statement likely has a different meaning to you. If you read that statement on a piece of paper you randomly found on the beach, it may once more have a different meaning to you.

We interpret thoughts based on their context, especially when it comes to thoughts and concepts shared by people. We are always influenced by the halo effect of the person communicating the idea—that is, their social status, economic wealth, appearance, personal experiences, age, and many other more or less identifiable elements.

This situation is confusing, especially when it comes to life advice, because we trust people who have been there before us and may share advice not to do what they have done. Yet we trust them because they’ve done that. So should we do it too so other people can trust our advice? Or not do it and avoid the experiential realization but miss the status-increasing nature of the experience?

Also the answer to such a question depends on your experience, and the relevance people will give to it is highly dependent on your halo.

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