The Paradox of Choice

The Tyranny of Pop Economics

A solid survey of behavioral economics literature related to the premise that the wide range of choices we have (what to read, how to read it, what rating to give it, where to post our review) actually ends up making us unhappier (tyranny of small decisions). Schwartz's summary is similar to a lot of those pop-economic books that seem to pop up regularly and sell quite well because they both tell us something we kinda already suspected, but also gently surprise us with counter-intuitive ideas at the same time. We are surprised, we are also a little validated: just little bit of supply with a very light touch demand.

This book belongs snug on the bookshelf next to: anything by Malcolm Gladwell, Freakonomics, Predictably Irrational, Nudge, Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), etc. All interesting, all worth the time (as long as the time is < 5 hrs), but none of them are brilliant. They are all Gladwell-like in their reductionism (this is why they all sell so well to the business community and are pimped heavily by Forbes to TED). I am both attracted and repelled by the form. They seem to span the fissure between academic and pop, between economics and self-help. I read them and I end up feeling like I know a bit more about myself, and NOW I'm just disappointed in that bastard for a couple more rational reasons.

84 of 87 people found this review helpful

Interesting

This work caused me to realize that much of the stress of my life is related to the infinite list of possibilities and choices that I have to make. It also gave me a set of strategies for dealing with that stress.

11 of 11 people found this review helpful

Very true...

Satisficers really do enjoy life more than maximizers. This I think is particularly true in a marriage.

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

The narration took away from the material for me.

What made the experience of listening to The Paradox of Choice the most enjoyable?

The second half was useful because it was expanded material built on the first half which was material I had already read in other works.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Paradox of Choice?

I often got distracted by the way the reader would just read what we're obviously section headers straight through and continue on to the text of the section. I had to mentally stop to put the organization of the work together in my head when a section header should have been an obvious part to help organize it. Setting section header off in the reading, as in the actual text, would make the reading much more coherent.

This is not the first audio book to be read this way, but it certainly was distracting to me.

Would you be willing to try another one of Ken Kliban’s performances?

Not in non-fiction

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Great idea, repetitive & boring first hour

After watching TED talk and liking what I heard, I thought I'd pick up the audio book and get into some more detail.

Sadly after an hour I gave up. The first few chapters are extremely repetitive. He lists choice lists over and over again. ... 'and then you have medical insurance'. option 1, 2,3,4... 'and then you have cookies' chocolate chip, oatmeal... over and over again. I had to give up. Maybe the book will get better in the following chapters, but after an hour I decided to give up and switch to the next audiobook I'd grabbed.

From what I listened to, you could get most of the information from the above 20minute TED talk.

36 of 41 people found this review helpful

Awesome book for overcoming perfectionism

What did you love best about The Paradox of Choice?

The author made it clear not only how much the phenomenon of "overchoice" affects us, but how to overcome it.

What other book might you compare The Paradox of Choice to and why?

I've really never read anything similar.

What three words best describe Ken Kliban’s voice?

Aloof, clipped, and unemotional

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The way to enjoy your choices more is to impose your own limits on choice.

Any additional comments?

As a recovering perfectionist, I found this book to be a wonderful guide to living a simpler, more satisfying life by limiting the choices that I have to make and by consciously choosing the amount of value that I assign to the choices that I do make.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Good information, distracting narration

Would you be willing to try another one of Ken Kliban’s performances?

Not likely. He had an almost forced steady rate of speech and he seemed to place too much emphasis/stress in the "ity" for words such as "opportunity" and "possibility" which was rather distracting once I noticed it.

Any additional comments?

I will likely go back and review parts of this book again, but I would get a physical copy because of the narration.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Hard to follow

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Different Narrator and more stories I could relate to. Easier to follow.

What was most disappointing about Barry Schwartz’s story?

I think it had a lot to do with the narrator.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Boring and not dynamic in areas.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Good Book

I really enjoyed the information and ideas conveyed in this book, however I found the narration hard to listen to for any length of time. My next step is to pick up the hard copy.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Why Choice Is Difficult for Many Today

This book introduces the reader to two types of choosers - maximisers and satisfisers. The first type tries to make the best of all possible choices, whereas the second settles for the first available choice that meets the minimum criteria.

I was pleased to find I am in the second type, since the first type, maximisers are usually under more stress. It was interesting to see how our choices are often framed by clever marketeers, and how we can evaluate and expose their schemes. Don't worry though. You won't go wrong if you choose to read this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful