I’ve sometimes described my time as an investment banking analyst as “selling two years of my life for a specified price.” That is an obvious exaggeration for a few reasons: it didn’t take up literally all of my time, I was still able to live among “normal” people (though its debatable how much living I did), I received experience and network benefits in addition to cash, etc.

Here is a much more straightforward transaction, a story in which five men agreed to live on a deserted 21-square-mile island in one of the most remote places on earth for 1.5 years. Their only job? Clubbing and skinning seals.

Looking past whatever moral qualms you have with the job, Matt Lakeman, the author of this article, is right in claiming that the more interesting question is: at what price do you sell that time?

My favorite part of the article is the end where Lakeman tries to speculate as to how different this decision might have been in the historical context in which it was made.

One thing I can say pretty definitively from reading Moby Dick (set more than 50 years later, mind you) is that it was a VERY different decision back then. Western humans were regularly committing to years-long projects, often involving harsh conditions and social isolation, for underwhelming pay at and around this timeframe.

Lakeman is correct to point out that opportunity costs were lower: there simply weren’t as many blogs to read in the late 18th century, and most of the modern conveniences that we would miss on the island didn’t exist yet or, at least, weren’t widely available to the middle class.

But I think he underrates the way that attention span has changed in recent history. In the 18th century, everything took more time–everything from making butter to moving across the country. The history of civilization up until that point is littered with societies and individuals committing themselves to years- and even generations-long projects on a scale that is unthinkable today.

What sovereign ruler today would build pyramids that would remain incomplete until several reigns later? How many rugs would there be in homes if each of them took months to make?

As our efficiency has increased, so has our need for faster gratification. Many of my millennial friends struggle to stay in any job for 1.5 years without getting restless. I don’t think 1.5 years was really, by comparison, all that much to these gentlemen…

…or maybe they just liked clubbing seals?

Interesting and recommended. Via Tyler Cowen.