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It's Great Having So Many Choices (?)

A long time ago, someone said to me that having choices causes stress. If the doctor tells you that you need a procedure right now or you’re going to die (or worse) there is less stress because there is no choice. But if the doctor tells you that you "really should go check this out because maybe ...." You start stressing out over whether to do it. I bring this up because of something that happened to me recently. I was selling a pair of speakers locally and this very nice guy (as all audiophiles are of course) comes over to listen for a few hours. He really likes my system and he’s very impressed with my dac. He leaves without buying, but the next day he calls and picks up the speakers. Smart guy - don’t impulse buy. So when he comes over, we start talking about DACs and he is in the market for a new one. I said that he really liked my DAC, he could afford it, he listened for hours and why don’t you just buy the same one? Mine is not for sale, so I had no sinister motives. So he starts rattling off all these names, Denafrips, RME and a bunch of others and I told him I just didn’t know. But I could see the stress and frustration in his demeanor and I was thinking about it.

Why wouldn’t someone just buy something they listened to in person for hours, with the exact speakers you just bought and know with certainty that you liked? And you can afford it, so $$ is not the issue. It made me remember what my friend told me about how choices cause stress. And now, with so many products available on the internet, the audiophile is faced with so many options that it has become much more difficult and stressful to make a buying decision.

So are more choices good? Of course. How could any rational person say that more choices aren’t better. That’s stupidity. But unfortunately, the human brain reacts in strange ways. Truly, man is the only animal on earth that can be given everything they want and still not be happy. Perhaps that’s why civilization has progressed to where it has, at least technologically. If we were satisfied with what we had, we’d all be sitting around in the dark. Maybe not the worst thing.

chayro

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artemus_5
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The problem is not too many choices but too many overlapping choices or meaningless choices that just muddy up the water. This has come with the complexity of our technology which we have surrounded ourselves with IMO. The more complex the system the more opportunity for breakdown. The more opportunity for breakdown the more likely it will happen. And when it does breakdown, it usually takes longer to fix because of the complexity.

this morning, my wife could not start her car. Dead battery. Why no warning? Because these complexity of the cars allows the bad battery to continue without any warning. Prior to the electronic ignition and computers, it was easy to tell when a battery was in need of changing because it would turn the starter much slower. So you could drive to the store or mechanic shop to get it fixed. Fortunately this took place at home instead of out on the road. But still, I must either remove the battery myself or hope my 50 amp  charger can charge it. This is just an example of the problems cause by complexity. Look at the supply chain for another. And there are plenty more. . Everything should be made as simple as possible but not simpler.

 

 

IE, back in the mid 1900's when TV was coming of age, we had antenna which brought in the signal. If you lived in the city you may have gotten 5-6 channels which included ABC, NBC. CBS NPR and an independent. But living on MD's lower  eastern shore we got 3. Then cable came and we got 13. Then we got 35. Now we have 200+ channels. They often overlap in the shows they have just maybe a different episode. So now if you had XYZ show

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