Too Many Choices

A Dave Mathews song goes, “It’s a typical situation in these typical times… Too many choices.” Whether you’re buying a laptop or a car, it can be overwhelming to make apples-to-apples comparisons between all the options out there. It can be exhausting unless you love cars or gizmos (I have friends who find a trip to Best Buy or the local car dealership truly stimulating!).

Barry Schwartz has done research on the subject of too many choices. Have you seen his speech at the TED conference? http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/93

I’m not suggesting that we should go back and not have choices. That’s not even realistic given our current consumption habits. But maybe we don’t need so many choices — choices that pollute our air, water, and muck up the planet for us and future generations. Maybe there’s some middle ground here?