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Showing posts from June, 2010

July 6: "Everything was Better Back When Everything was Worse"

“The world I am trying to understand, is one in which men think they want one thing and then upon getting it, find out to their dismay that they don’t want it nearly as much as they thought or don’t want it at all and that something else, of which they were hardly aware, is what they really want.” -- Albert O. Hirschman July's topic is going to explore the idea that in this blessed age of abundance, too many choices can paralyze our ability to be satisfied and happy with our decisions...and perhaps, like the anonymous girl said in the teaser video above, prevent us from making decisions altogether. Were we happier and more easily satisfied back when we had one option when it came to the fit of our jeans? When there was only one movie playing at the local theatre? When your cell phone was a single function device? This topic is inspired by Barry Schwartz's book "The Paradox of Choice." Please come prepared having watched/read the following: 1. Barry Schwartz's TED