Writer John Shirley has some interesting things to say about a new Scientific American article called "Tyranny of Choice" (paid subscription required to read article, you can read more about the article on Alternet.)
They suggest there are two basic types of choosers, Maximizers and Satisficers. The former aim to make the best possible choice in a near obsessive way, the latter tend to settle for 'good enough'. Maximizers spend a long time shopping, can't make up their minds what to buy for a gift, channel surf like a cokehead searching through the rug for fallen powder…
Maximizers in particular are prone to unhappiness in our society–there are too many choices, just too damn much input in general, and they can't deal with it. Satisficers are having a hard time too; they tend to go to lower stress options–and those are harder to find. But they're less likely to be depressed and suicidal.
