“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 talk in which he presents his ideas (20 min)
2. 2009 Time Magazine article -- "expectation inflation" and how that affects our happiness.
3. 2004 New Yorker article -- "Select All" mentions Schwartz's book but also points out how, these days, simply being a decision maker can put you ahead.
Prioritized Optional (but highly enjoyable and recommended) Preparation:
1. Malcolm Gladwell's TED talk argues how choices and variety is what saved Ragu and revolutionized the American food industry (18 min) -- should we then embrace diversity? Is this a counter argument to what Schwartz is saying?
2. 2010 New York Times Article -- Do more choices offer more freedom or is it a recipe for misery?
3. 2005 Interview with Barry Schwartz that focuses on how his theory affects the consumer...are you a maximizer?
Hope to see you there!
Sorry we will miss it, we are off to Japan next week. Hope to make it for November, maybe.
ReplyDeleteSo excited about this topic! I was just discussing this with friends, how hard it is for all of us to decide on a job or a career or where we want to live. My friend is a dancer so you would think there would be an obvious career choice for her, but she can't decide what STYLE of dance she wants to perfect, or if she wants to teach or perform, or just work for a dance company, and if she should teach at a dance studio or at a public school. Too many choices!
ReplyDeleteI think this applies to the difficulty I have had in selecting a spouse and making career decisions. Too many options can lead to a) bad choices, b) a half-hearted choice that leads to dissatisfaction or ineffectiveness, or b) no choice at all (analysis paralysis). But I wonder if the problem really is that we have too many choices, or if the real culprit is that some of us are simply not good at making decisions.
ReplyDeleteI can actually come to the discussion this week but I don't know where it is. Please inform. If people want to have it at my place then I will be happy to serve gelato.
ReplyDeletemark england
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Mark, as far as I know the discussion will take place at Mitch and Tiffany's house (same place you came before, address in the blog header). Maybe they're out of town, in which case, we might hit up the pizza place again like last month.
ReplyDeleteTo argue that limiting choice is an appropriate action in the face of abundance of choice is equivalent to me arguing in favor of gravity reduction simply because I struggle with pullups.
ReplyDeleteMuch of what we consider problematic also provides valuable opportunities for growth. When we divert our focus away from direct elimination of the problem and towards personal growth, we find that the problem has already lessened in severity, and ofttimes becomes moot. I prefer to view my own struggles and adversities as tutors, albeit wretched ones.
Matt raises a valid question. Just because life was "simpler" back in the stone age doesn't mean we ought to revert back to it. If we did, I wager we would find our notions of simplicity a bit romanticized. We need not destroy our technologies, but rather refine our capacities to use them more responsibly. The power is ours to choose what we will make room for.
Thanks again for the great discussion. I read this article today, "How to Test Your Decision-Making Instincts" from the McKinsey Quarterly--focused more toward business decisions. I especially liked the author's second point: "Previous experience is useful to us only if we learned the right lessons."
ReplyDeleteAre we learning the right lessons?
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