The Paradox of Choice: Weekly Round-Up

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Today I came across a dilemma, some may say the crisis of our generation. I walked into a Costa store at my local Tesco trying to pass the time whilst I waited for the car to get cleaned. I queued up, awaiting my turn like the good middle-class citizen that I am and as the barista called for me to make my choice, I suddenly froze. There were so many choices. Did I want the Americano with a dash of milk or did I want to have a cappuccino with the frothy milk or the latte, espresso, candor, ice latte with skimmed milk, was I feeling rebellious going for the mocha with full-fat milk? There was so much to choose from and yet I was stuck. Rather than words coming out of my mouth, I Just stood there and laughed awkwardly, eventually, I settled with the Americano, but that is just the start of it. "What milk would you like?" What milk would I like? I just want a coffee and to get on with my day. How privileged have we become that we can choose between the different types of milk to have in our coffee. I for one didn't even know we had a choice so I replied with a shrug of the shoulders, a nervous laugh and said, "Any, I guess". After a few dodgy looks from my fellow customers, I eventually retreated to my seat with my medium Americano heated to 85 degrees Celsius with 50 ml of warm semi-skimmed low-fat milk and 2 sugars, which was fairly average. (Sorry Costa).

Anyway, why am I rambling on about my inability to communicate in a regular society? Well, it all comes down to a theory developed by an American psychologist Barry Schwartz, called the Paradox of Choice where he explains that the more choices we have the less of a chance we have of actually making a decision and we will almost be certainly unhappy with our choice. This has become a very real problem in the modern world as so much of our limited energy is spent on making choices that have no real effect on our lives, almost always leaving us feeling drained and unsatisfied. By eliminating even some of the choices from our lives we can go on with our day feeling happier and more energized.

Here are some examples to help you get started:

1) Have set work/study/school clothes we know how much time that can take us to decide.

2) When you go to Costa, know what you like and stick to it.

3) Schedule, work out what's important to you and work it into a weekly schedule, we know how much time you spend procrastinating on doing something rather than actually doing it.

Weekly Round-Up

We have some amazing articulate articles for you to read this weekend. Find about the heroic last stand of the French army, the coming AI revolution, understand how you can use motivation and discipline to push past the limits of what you thought was possible and to cap it all off, the wonders of the world we live in and how we can make it a better place for all.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” —Thomas A. Edison

To succeed one needs to fail. By failing you will eliminate every way that doesn't work and be left with what does work. That is when you will succeed. Don't stop at failure because success might be right just round the corner.

Fact of the Week - Paris the City of Science

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Did you know that The Eiffel Tower can be 15 cm taller during the summer, due to thermal expansion, which means as the iron heats up, the particles gain kinetic energy, causing them to vibrate and take up more space.

Book of the Week - Steven Hawking Brief Answers to the Brief Questions

Steven Hawking needs no introduction. Noble prize winner, discoverer of black holes and arguably the greatest scientist of the century. In this thought-provoking insightful book, Hawking answers all the big questions from time travel to black holes. This is a book I have personally drawn inspiration and knowledge from whilst writing my science blogs. Written in a way that is easy to understand this book is definitely worth a read.

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