The Applause

A street performer noticed that larger crowds gave more coins.

He also noticed that passersby were drawn to crowds. The bigger the crowd, the more people stopped.

So he hired three friends to stand and watch. A small crowd gathered. Then a larger one. Then larger still.

He raised his rates. He hired more friends. He needed the coins to pay the friends. He needed bigger crowds to earn more coins.

One day he counted his earnings. After paying his friends, he'd made less than when he performed alone.