Isn't it a funny human condition to feel the need to give something back to someone who has given you something? My mother just pointed out to me today that usually people give without expecting something in return, so why do we feel the need to return the gesture somehow? Example being the huge amounts of second hand baby items that i have recently received from family members and friends alike. I Want to thank them yet somehow feel the words aren't enough. The guitar picker likewise, did he not think his playing was enough to warrant a $10 bill from a stranger?
I'd love to go back to a time where bartering was the norm of everyday life. I think it would make us value things more because we would need to really consider the value of an item rather than taking the cost at face value (or the cost that the supermarket has put on it). Thanks for the article!