[plug] Newbie Guide - The beginning

[James Devenish]

In message <41FB9C18.7090706 at westnet.com.au>
on Sat, Jan 29, 2005 at 10:22:16PM +0800, Jim Householder wrote:
> Recent research has shown that quality of life appears to be inversely 
> proportional to the number of choices one has... (sorry I can't provide
> a reference here)

I doubt that's true. Imagine if we could only eat corn, rice and
carrots, or if there were only five musicians in the world. To the
contrary, we like variety, and the ability to try something new, and
the ability to have what we "want" when we want it. What *has* been
demonstrated, at least, is that if you need to "commit" to a single
taste-based selection (e.g. it's more complicated that choosing a radio
station or sharing a buffet with your family), then having fewer than
ten choices is "comfortable", but being exposed to a larger number of
options makes it likely that you'll postpone your decision or make an
"irrational" choice.