Paying someone to fill out taxes is an example of this, so is using a financial advisor to plan a retirement portfolio.
Heck I wanted to replace a dozen light switches awhile back. Could I do it myself? Sure. Did I pay someone else to do it? Yes.
Heck I wanted to replace a dozen light switches awhile back. Could I do it myself? Sure. Did I pay someone else to do it? Yes.
Instead I hand them a big box of switches.
What point are you trying to make exactly? Paying someone for services has absolutely nothing to do with manipulation or deception.
I don't have to pretend to be an idiot for this transaction to be efficient. Learned helplessness is a manipulation technique used to fudge the numbers when the value gap is very small: by adding the good feeling of helping someone in need to the mark's side, you create an efficiency where none existed.