book

In my earlier post discussing the paradox of choice, I confessed I am a self proclaimed chronic maximzer. For instance, years ago I was frustrated with my can opener. It was difficult to use and often took several trys to fully open a can. When I held it, my hands were uncomfortable. I, of course, went to Amazon to find a replacement. Searching for “can opener” on Amazon yields: 1-48 of over 1,000 results for “can opener” [Read More]

Where can you can read books for free? Answer: The Public Library! We all know you can check out books for free at your local public library. But did you know that they also have Kindle books and audio books? There is an artificial number of virtual copies which is a little annoying. Fortunately the “Hold” functionality works so you can get notified when a copy becomes available. On the plus side you don’t need to physically go to the library to get your book. [Read More]

Freedom. A core tenet of United States culture. What embodies freedom more than individual choice? Following this logic, more choices = more freedom. Therefore, having more choices is always virtuous, right? The Paradox of Choice Barry Schwartz counters this reasoning in his book The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. He argues that too much choice can have negative consequences. In particular it can have these effects: Decision Paralysis - We don’t feel confident we’ll make the best choice, so we don’t make any decision at all. [Read More]