A Little Bit of This, Some of That. What About? And This?
I am currently reading The Paradox of Choice : Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz. Now, when I first was recommended this book, ironically, I thought about picking up this book. Ironic? Because Schwartz's book is all about choice. Why we choose, when we choose and why we choose. So, as I during my studying of the first chapter (When we Choose) I constantly think of choice in my everyday life. Everything is a choice, everything.
Do you know how much time I would save if there were only 3 different cereals in the aisle? Seriously. I spend about 10 minutes and 80% of the time I buy the same thing I did last time. I could've been running halfway to Alaska with the time I could have saved by limiting my options.
Think about all the choices you make in the first 10 minutes of waking up that is much of a ritual you don't even know it - brushing your teeth, putting on deodorant, putting on socks, etc... Choice is everywhere.
But, my point in this post is choice and how that relates to time itself. If there was only one toothpaste, only one type of plastic baggies, only one type of yogurt, do you realize how much free time we (well, most of us) would have? Maybe too much choice is good. Maybe the extra time would drive us nuts. But should I have to chose between 275 different boxes of cereal?
It's fascinating how we live with certain choices. Some are 100% wrong and we're fine with it (buying a new type of salad dressing to try). Some are 5% wrong and we live in frustration for a long period of time (buying a car in a hurry). Just think about it next time. When you're in the supermarket looking for garbage bags, eye the aisle. When looking for soap scum removal, just be amazed with how many bottles you'll find. When buying a ball point pen, just look at the options.
I went to a hardware store earlier today and spent 8 minutes deciding on what type of stapler gun to buy. A stapler gun. There were over 8 choices. 8 choices of stapler guns. There were 3 companies who made staples for the stapler guns. This is insane. I spent 10 minutes of my life deciding to buy a Stanley stapler gun because of the color, grip, and brand name over the other options. It's a fucking stapler gun.
Do you know how much time I would save if there were only 3 different cereals in the aisle? Seriously. I spend about 10 minutes and 80% of the time I buy the same thing I did last time. I could've been running halfway to Alaska with the time I could have saved by limiting my options.
Think about all the choices you make in the first 10 minutes of waking up that is much of a ritual you don't even know it - brushing your teeth, putting on deodorant, putting on socks, etc... Choice is everywhere.
But, my point in this post is choice and how that relates to time itself. If there was only one toothpaste, only one type of plastic baggies, only one type of yogurt, do you realize how much free time we (well, most of us) would have? Maybe too much choice is good. Maybe the extra time would drive us nuts. But should I have to chose between 275 different boxes of cereal?
It's fascinating how we live with certain choices. Some are 100% wrong and we're fine with it (buying a new type of salad dressing to try). Some are 5% wrong and we live in frustration for a long period of time (buying a car in a hurry). Just think about it next time. When you're in the supermarket looking for garbage bags, eye the aisle. When looking for soap scum removal, just be amazed with how many bottles you'll find. When buying a ball point pen, just look at the options.
I went to a hardware store earlier today and spent 8 minutes deciding on what type of stapler gun to buy. A stapler gun. There were over 8 choices. 8 choices of stapler guns. There were 3 companies who made staples for the stapler guns. This is insane. I spent 10 minutes of my life deciding to buy a Stanley stapler gun because of the color, grip, and brand name over the other options. It's a fucking stapler gun.
posted by Vandelay Industries @ 9:24 PM
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