Barry Schwartz: The paradox of choice
Loading...
Uploaded by TEDtalksDirector on Jan 16, 2007
http://www.ted.com 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.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes -- including speakers such as Jill Bolte Taylor, Sir Ken Robinson, Hans Rosling, Al Gore and Arthur Benjamin. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10
- 6,063 likes, 405 dislikes
-
Link to this comment:
Top Comments
All Comments (2,434)
-
Who cares? He doesn't need to wear a suit to speak well, have some good ideas, and have you listen to him.
-
Exactly what I've been thinking lately...don't let society strip your freedom away from you, but don't allow yourself to be completely free. Keep the balance and all will be well
-
when one grows older, the so called paradox of choice affects him/her less, given that person's wisdom grow with age.
I do not agree with "things were better when they were worse."
-
So he's saying that it is impossible to make a good decision when you're presented with multiple options... I'm perfectly fine with my bacon caeser, regardless of the other 150 flavors.
-
He asserts that freedom of choice causes more harm than good yet that there is a certain level of freedom which optimizes personal happiness. What he doesn't address is that this level of choice is almost certainly dependent on the individual.
He also fails to recognize the alternative to this "freedom paralysis" which is the despair individuals can succumb to when stuck in a choice they KNOW is lousy and can better improved. For example, nearly every presidential election ever.
-
I've made the choice to ignore this bitter old man and I'm quite content about it.
-
I'm sorry, this guy has no idea what he's talking about...straw men, mis-characterization, and just total ignorance of reality abound. Such intellectual laziness, and the vitriol resulting therefrom, is inexcusable. Wow.
-
There is a company that does this: iOS on 1 device, or Android on 50 million devices. I'll take the Apple, thank you.
-
how did he go from having less choice to income redistribution?? ... sorry thumbs down
- Loading comment...
- 20:19
David Blaine: How I held my breath for 17 minby TEDtalksDirector1,227,237 views
- 20:04
Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?by TEDtalksDirector3,542,465 views
- 20:46
Barry Schwartz: The real crisis? We stopped being wiseby TEDtalksDirector131,596 views
- 18:16
Malcolm Gladwell: What we can learn from spaghetti sauceby TEDtalksDirector548,467 views
- 52:11
Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking and Arthur C. Clarke - God, The Universe and Everything Else (1988)by TheScienceFoundation185,761 views
- 19:42
Ze Frank: What's so funny about the Web?by TEDtalksDirector153,063 views
- 1:06:07
Sean Carroll - The Paradoxes of Time Travelby iasedu18,539 views
- 1:55
This Is Mind Blowing!by FabioTheItalianOne2,023,509 views
- 22:31
Tony Robbins: Why we do what we do, and how we can do it betterby TEDtalksDirector4,177,179 views
- 8:18
Tony Robbins- The difference Between a Winner and a Loserby bluveeta273,657 views
- 20:55
Matthieu Ricard: Habits of happinessby TEDtalksDirector292,087 views
- 0:13
The Most Inspiring thing ever said...by trypeace3,000,681 views
- 25:31
Dan Dennett: A secular, scientific rebuttal to Rick Warrenby TEDtalksDirector389,879 views
- 7:18
Killer Presentation Skillsby jdjefferys1,293,080 views
- 19:29
Elizabeth Gilbert: A new way to think about creativityby TEDtalksDirector899,305 views
- 18:12
Sir Martin Rees: Earth in its final century?by TEDtalksDirector168,349 views
- 19:55
We're All Predictably Irrational - Dan Arielyby ForaTv129,716 views
- 1:14
A Simple Paradox [Philosophy]by TheRavenOfPoe576,577 views
- 18:29
Sarah Kay: If I should have a daughter ...by TEDtalksDirector766,552 views
In front of a sophisticated audience, I'd have made the choice to not look like someone who just got done raking leaves.
NoEcologyNoEconomy 1 month ago 18
That is what hapens in anything artistic: the more boundries the artist sets for a specific work of art the more inspired the art becomes.
It would be immoral for society to impose specific boundaries on the individual, but it is also immoral for the mature individual to allow him/her self live by "the sky is the limit".
Adaerus 3 weeks ago 11