In coevolving technology and business, do we actually know what we want? This may come with a presumption that more choice is better than less choice. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz suggests that we may think that we’re going to be happier with more choice, but in fact, we’re probably not.
I first listened to the audio recording of Barry Schwartz’s talk, "Less is More" at the Pop!Tech 2004 conference. (For a visual approach to the content, look at the sketch by Peter Durand of Alphachimp Studio). The idea is simple, but Schwartz isn’t just a journalist, he’s a professor of psychology. I’ve now been reading the book. Since I’m a reader of footnotes, the book provides a lot of foundations from psychology.
In the prologue of the book, Schwartz starts off with references to political philosophy Isaiah Berlin, on the distinction between "negative liberty" and "positive liberty". He then cites Amartya Sen (Nobel laureaute in Economics) and Development as Freedom. Schwartz argues that:
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- We would be better off we we embraced certain voluntary constraints on our freedom of choice, instead of rebelling against them.
- We would be better off seeking what was "good enough" instead of seeking the best (have you ever heard a parent say, "I want only the ‘good enough’ for my kids"?).
- We would be better off if we lowered our expectations about the results of decisions.
In coevolving technology and business, do we actually know what we want? This may come with a presumption that more choice is better than less choice. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz suggests that we may think that we’re going to be happier with more choice, but in fact, we’re probably not.
I first listened to the audio recording of Barry Schwartz’s talk, "Less is More" at the Pop!Tech 2004 conference. (For a visual approach to the content, look at the sketch by Peter Durand of Alphachimp Studio). The idea is simple, but Schwartz isn’t just a journalist, he’s a professor of psychology. I’ve now been reading the book. Since I’m a reader of footnotes, the book provides a lot of foundations from psychology.
In the prologue of the book, Schwartz starts off with references to political philosophy Isaiah Berlin, on the distinction between "negative liberty" and "positive liberty". He then cites Amartya Sen (Nobel laureaute in Economics) and Development as Freedom. Schwartz argues that:
… Read more (in a new tab)
- We would be better off we we embraced certain voluntary constraints on our freedom of choice, instead of rebelling against them.
- We would be better off seeking what was "good enough" instead of seeking the best (have you ever heard a parent say, "I want only the ‘good enough’ for my kids"?).
- We would be better off if we lowered our expectations about the results of decisions.
