Sublime

Now no one in his right mind will satisfice if he can equally well optimize; no one will settle for good or better if he can have best. But that is not the way the problem usually poses itself in actual design situations.

Most people who participate in this experiment (commonly referred to as the “Free Choice Paradigm”) change their preferences upon their return. Typically we see the painting that was chosen, previously ranked Number 3, will now be ranked more highly. Conversely, the painting that was not chosen, previously ranked Number 4, will now be rated less we

When they made decisions, people did not seek to maximize utility. They sought to minimize regret.

the very fact that nearly everyone goes along with the default might give us pause, or at least encourage us to ask what, exactly, is happening here.

Simplicity changes behavior.

Barry Schwartz says we have to become “choosers” instead of “pickers.” A picker selects from the options available, leading us into false dichotomies created by the options we see in front of us. But a chooser “is thoughtful enough to conclude that perhaps none of the available alternatives are satisfactory, and that if he or she wants the right al

Our biological instincts are not always very well adapted to the information-rich modern world. Unless we work actively to become aware of the biases we introduce, the returns to additional information may be minimal—or diminishing.