Pretty interesting stuff. I'm reminded of Robert Pursig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and the follow-up years later, "Lila." If by chance you haven't read (and re-read) these, get to it

I'm somewhat of a maximizer depending on my level of interest. I'm interested in backpacking gear, so I'll do research and experiment and probably spend some money foolishly, but that's part of the fun. At some point, the gear can become an end in itself rather than just a tool, but even that's not necessarily "bad," just something to be aware of.

If I'm not particularly interested, I'm a sufficer. If I need a new toaster (and I do) I'll likely just go to a big box store and get one that seems OK and doesn't cost too much.

It's changeable, too. My background is in electronics (I went to USC - Uncle Sam's College) and this caused me at one point to be thrust into the role of "computer guy" on a particular job. Of course, I knew almost nothing about computers, so I had to learn quickly. I became interested and spent countless hours building and configuring computers (remember OS/2 and NextStep?) Now, I couldn't care less. I'm hoping my old laptop will last forever so I won't have to mess with setting up a new one (not to mention buying one). This is real interesting if you happen to be me

I think, though, that us part-time maximizers would do well to develop a Shock-Proof Crap Detector to alert us when we've drifted into absurdity. It's just setting the threshold that's the problem...