The abstract ends up effecting concrete changes, but yes, it's those extra steps that make it not so obvious.

And it's so easy to get hung up on "My productivity does not attract them" that one just doesn't see "so I don't have to stress so much about productivity for the sake of productivity" or even "so my rival's productivity doesn't attract them either, so they can focus on my awesome personality."

Yeah, I definitely read at Figleaf's, which has no doubt gone a large way to influencing me on this side of the matter.