[webdigi]

There is an awesome TED talk by Barry Schwartz: The paradox of choice. https://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_c...

Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied.

[adventured]

No doubt Barry Schwartz has never lived without choice. He's wrong, and obviously so. Freedom of choice is vastly superior, in every possible way, to the alternative.

A nicer Soviet-era grocery store:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWTGsUyv8IE

The stories are overly plentiful of people that were held in low-choice captivity in the former USSR, breaking down in tears upon seeing western grocery stores. I know several people who lived under Communism in Romania, their experience was identical. I'd suspect that very few people arguing against choice, have ever lived in a situation where they were actually deprived of it. They're essentially spoiled brats.

[duderific]

I think the key here is the Goldilocks principle: too little or no choice is bad, but so is too much choice. The key (from a marketing perspective) is finding just the right amount of choice that does not overwhelm, but gives a range of varying options. Other commenters have mentioned finding a sweet spot - Apple's x/y axis that leads to four product categories; trimming the number of potato chip options on the rack from 12 to 5 and seeing sales jump.

[colund]

I was just going to post the Google Talk with the same guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ELAkV2fC-I.

Choice is good as long as people don't feel like they need to optimize, but instead feel they can settle for good enough.

[barney54]

And here some of the other side--that the paradox of choice might be s myth: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/more-is-...

[scholia]

The linked story mentions "professor of social theory Barry Schwartz in his book The Paradox of Choice" and links to his book.

[laotzu]

"Freedom is the state of not having to choose" -Alan Watts