Review: The Paradox of Choice

The Paradox of Choice, by Barry Schwartz. Just go and read it. I mean it. It's not often that I could honestly recommend a book to everyone, but here is a rare exception. The content of this book would stand to benefit everyone. Barry approaches the matter of choices in our lives from a variety of angles, and they all point to an important theme - while some degree of choice is needed for us to feel happy, too much choice tends to make us unhappy. Anyone who lives in a relatively wealthy part of the world, in which supermarkets and stores abound with a baffling amount of things for sale, would benefit from reading what Barry has to say in this book. 

Most of us tend to think that we are rational decision-makers, and the pressure of marketing doesn't sway our choices, but the truth is that we are usually wrong about it. Our lives are an ongoing series of choices, and this book highlights how easy it is to act against our own best interests and remaining ignorant while doing so. Barry also makes some useful suggestions for us to tackle the problems of choice.

Final score: 4.5 / 5

Review: The Light Years

The Light Years, by R. W. W. Greene, is a dystopian science fiction novel which I finished reading yesterday. It was thoroughly enjoyable. 

The story is set in a future in which humanity has fled to the stars and colonised several planets. Societies have continued to deteriorate as the schism between rich people and poor people keeps expanding. Most people live out their lives planet side, but others find work in space and spend most of their lives onboard spaceships travelling between the planets at speeds nearing that of light itself. The novel is presented from the perspective of two main characters, told in alternating chapters. One character, Adem, he is a space trader. The other is Hisako, and she isn't even born at the start of the book. And yet they have been arranged to be married when she is an adult. At first it seems bizarre even though the reader is made aware of the impact of relativity. But as the motives of each character's parents are made clear, it's easy to understand why such a marriage would be sought.

As the story progresses we see Hisako go through childhood, adolescence and early adulthood, all while Adem barely ages. As both characters struggle with the internal conflict of the arranged marriage individually, we see the various worlds change around them. Families, people and neighbourhoods come and go in a short span of time for the spacers. But thanks to some excellent storytelling, I never felt that their lives were insignificant; if anything, it made their fleeting lives seem even more valuable. And when Adem and Hisako eventually meet, which is on their wedding day, this novels starts to feel like a good romance novel in which I really wanted the best for the two main characters. 

There are a lot of interesting themes and feelings that came up while reading this book. I won't go into more detail, because I think it's best if you feel the full weight of those emotions as you discover the story for yourself.

Final score: 4 / 5

Unexplained absence

A fair bit of time has passed since my previous blogpost. Obviously, I have been attending to other matters, and I think that's all the explanation I'm going to provide. I hadn't forgotten about this blog, but I simply chose to give my time toward other activities. Maybe I'll write a new post soon. I hope that everyone is doing well. 

Forget that which shines

Of late, I have noticed my thoughts tending toward matters of unnecessary complexity. The pursuit of a simple life of basic needs, along with a few small comforts, has been usurped by cravings of a worldly nature. Money, possessions, reputation and recognition have become dominant thoughts. In essence - greed and ego. This shift in thinking has decreased my happiness a bit. Not a drastic change but enough for me to notice it. I don't like it. 

It has prompted me to return to the book Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Re-reading the early portion has reminded me of the confusing and sometimes complex pursuits of modern life, always chasing after more of various things, drawing people away from the bare necessities of life. Reading it provides a measure of peace to my mind, calming the turbulent desires and bringing them under heel. 

This morning I spared a thought for the chores at home - cleaning dishes, sweeping floors, folding laundry, dusting shelves, and other tasks of this kind. As I went about these chores I stopped thinking about the things from the world beyond - news, politics, markets, employment, and so on. The outside world was ushered from my mind and escorted back outside where they belong. I simply did the tasks at hand, and that was enough.

Obviously, we cannot ignore worldly concerns forever, but neither should we entertain them for longer than necessary. The same is true for most thoughts and matters. There are times when our thoughts on some topic are no longer useful. When we have moved beyond helpful reflection, and begun to ruminate, rehash and reinforce counterproductive lines of thought, then it is time to lay them aside to go do something. Keep it simple.

Stop trying so hard

I have read the book The Underachiever's Manifesto by Ray Bennett some years ago. I don't recall much specifically about its content, but I do remember the feeling that its core message was important. It was also a message which flew in the face of conventional rhetoric about how we should aim to live. Instead of championing the values of working harder, striving more and trying to forever climb the many vague ladders in life, we might be better served by taking things easy. 

The encouragement to become an overachiever becomes dominant toward the end of high schooling. There still seems to be a lot of pressure on young people to attend university to get a qualification. But the value of qualifications has decreased over time. As more people completed degrees the qualifications became more commonplace. Some people continue on with post-graduate studies to increase their value in the job market. And there's something interesting about degrees - they don't directly and reliably indicate the potential value of an employee. At best they serve as a proxy. 

We are also expected to look after our bodies. So, many people end up spending as much time working out as professional athletes do, when there's no need for it. Young people want the good looking body which is hopefully desirable to potential partners. But do you really need to workout five times a week? Or would you be better off by doing some basic compound lifts twice a week, a little moderate cardio, and otherwise simply staying active in your daily life? 

Then there is the matter of money. I have read quite a few news articles which share social media posts which complain about the cost of living. But how many people are living within their means? There was an absolutely priceless example recently - a woman took to social media and complained that her $40 grocery spend couldn't create a meal. Look, I'll admit that life is expensive these days, but if you can't create a meal for $40 then you're not seriously trying very hard. ...either that or you have a very, very large family. The lady then showed a picture of the items she bought and they included many convenience items, and some prosciutto. If anyone out there is buying prosciutto, they have immediately lost all rights to complain about the cost of living. Go buy a bulk bag of rice, some vegetables, some dried beans, and along with the fundamental items that are in most people's pantries, you can create many meals quite affordably. It isn't fancy? So what? Stop watching cooking shows on television, or those luscious food pictures on social media, and set some realistic expectations. 

There are many areas of life in which we try too hard. Obsession is the problem. We spend too much time obsessing over what everyone else is doing. And where do we get this perception? Social media in many cases. By now we all know that the way in which people present their lives online is inaccurate. So please, stop believing the nonsense.