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Comment by vukmir | Hacker News Reader

The standard line is that choice is good for us, that it confers on us freedom, personal responsibility, self-determination, autonomy and lots of other things that don’t help when you’re standing before a towering aisle of water bottles, paralysed and increasingly dehydrated, unable to choose.

That's just ridiculous!

According to the author, a towering aisle of water battles reduces you to the Buridan's ass.[0] Yes, there are some hard choices that will force you to think hard and put you through emotional hell. Yes, there are choices that will make you stuck in analysis paralysis, but choosing which bottle of water to buy isn't one.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buridan%27s_ass

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>Yes, there are choices that will make you stuck in analysis paralysis, but choosing which bottle of water to buy isn't one.

He was going for rhetorical effect. I think they should teach these things in reading/writing classes, so people don't take everything literally.

That said, choosing from "a towering aisle of water bottles" can still cost you up to a minute or more on deciding, which, while not Buridan's ass, it's still non-productive and worsens your shopping experience.

>He was going for rhetorical effect.

I guess I'm having a bad day and the author's malcolmgladwellization of the paradox of choice was too much...

Nope. Making a simile with Buridan's ass is a strawman.

It's not that you wont be able to decide (yes, that would be ridiculous). It's that you will be less satisfied with the choice you make because it's harder for your to quantify the opportunity cost given so many alternatives.

From the article: you’re standing before a towering aisle of water bottles, paralysed and increasingly dehydrated, unable to choose looks like the definition of Buridan's ass to me.

I'm familiar with the Schwartz's paradox of choice, but the author is pushing it too far. Does anyone really agonize over trivial choices such as which bottle of water to buy? Is anyone really getting dehydrated and unable to chose among many alternatives? Does anyone even considers opportunity cost when making such trivial choices?

My problem is not with the paradox of choice, my problem is with the author's trivialization of it.

I agonize because there are so many worthless options I will definitely not choose. I'm looking for any acceptable option - no chemical 'flavors'; no fancy bottle making it cost $$$. It takes time to winnow any wheat at all from the endless chaff.

I found a $0.79 bottle at my local quick stop, that actually fit in my bicycle water bottle holder for my lunchtime ride. Then, of course, the quick stop closed and was torn down. Woe is me.

But which bottle of water defines me as a person? Will you judge me badly for choosing water that did not filter through organic soil?

Are organic soil filters a core tenant of our tribe? How do I balance my need for sport electrolytes with the inevitable guilt of consumerism that follows?

Just eat your fruits and veggies.

You've never stood in a supermarket and watched someone agonize for 10 minutes over which $5 sandwich.

I wish there was a sandwich I'd like to eat, but there never is. Perhaps that's what it is. But yes I've been meaning to upgrade my laptop with an SSD for about a year, and still can't decide on size, make or model.

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