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The story of Howard Hughes's Spruce Goose — the largest airplane ever built, and a monument to the sunk cost fallacy. Milkman uses the story to explain why we throw good money after bad and how to recognize the trap.
Canon
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Milkman shows how the sunk cost effect escalates: each dollar spent raises the perceived cost of abandoning the project, creating a treadmill where the deeper you go, the harder it is to stop.
Highlights
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The sunk cost fallacy — past spending should not influence future decisions
Hughes spent $23 million (1940s dollars) on the Spruce Goose and refused to stop even when the plane was clearly impractical. The sunk costs felt like a reason to continue; rational analysis said they weren't.