Cost of the Search

Tags

behavioral economics, burden, Capitalism, choice, choice theory, Consumer, consumption, Economics, Freedom, information, Introspection, microeconomics, Opportunity, options, overwhelm, Philosophy, reflective, search costs

Searching

We love options.

We love choices.

We love freedom.

But, when we are

so overwhelmed with options that research becomes a necessity…

so inundated with research that gaining information becomes a chore…

so frustrated with information that choosing becomes a burden…

so tired of constant choice burden that satisficing becomes the only strategy…

We realize that

options can limit.

choices can restrict.

freedom can confine.

When choices become burdens – are we really free?

—–

This describes what I consider to be the story of my life. But it is not just me – the power of information and choice is an interesting topic best investigated from both sides. First, one side insists more information leads to more informed decisions and better outcomes. Then, the other side questions the importance of information and concerns itself with the cost of the information search.

If you want to learn more from an Economics perspective (the only one I have formal experience with) you can start with simple google searches: information economics, information theory, satisficing, search costs, cost of information, rational choice theory – the list goes on.

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Soul

Tags

Calm, clarity, content, God, pleased, religion, revelation, Seattle, Soul, spirituality, The Script, walking

Work today, settling for a Subway dinner. Found out that since I don’t have a vehicle and I cannot afford $100-200 a month on entertainment I also cannot join a social group that does all kinds of fun things. The Public Commentary session on Washington’s transportation system was moved without my knowing and I had to walk all around. I accidentally signed up to give commentary – I thought I was just showing my support why adding my name to that list. Whoops. Oh well, I left early anyway.

I don’t know why, but I decided to just walk a while instead of heading straight home. No reason, just following a feelin’.

Pray for Boston

Tags

April 15, bombing, Bsoton Marathon

In times like these it is hard not to get depressed.  It is hard not to think about the evil in the world. It is hard not to become disenfranchised with humanity.  It is hard not to be overwhelmed with all the tragedy in the world. It is hard.  But times like these can also restore our faith in humanity. Through the darkest times, we overcome. Regular people overcome irregular odds. People forget logic. They forget rationality. They forget self-concern.  Instead they rise to the challenge and selflessly help their fellow people.

The events at the Boston Marathon were a tragedy, but they were also a beacon of hope. One of my peers at Gettysburg says it best:

The People Who Matter

Tags

Family, Friends, Love

Think about this for a moment. Not just “oh yeah, that is interesting,” but actually think about it:

If people were concerned about you, who would they confide in? Who would they turn to for an explanation? Who would they trust, not only to keep your secrets but to understand how to handle your woes?

Those people they turn to… they are the people you must hold close.

The Tears are Inevitable

Tags

4k For Cancer, adventure, Bike, Biking, Cancer, cross-country, Cycling, personal

I am sitting here in Musselman Library, at a table in the middle of the first floor, crying.  I should have known this would happen.  I only write about Poppop on rare occasions, but when I do I can never fight back the tears.  Today I was writing some essay responses for why I want to participate in 4k For Cancer, and it just hit me.  Originally, I did not want to do this program.  I did not want to talk about cancer.  I just wanted to go on a cross-country adventure.  Although it lacked some of the adventure of forging my own path, I thought I might apply anyway.  After all, I could compromise with this program: less adventure for less planning much higher affordability.

But not anymore.  I cannot sit down and write about him without a handful of tissues.  Perhaps this is the right thing for me.  Riding solo would be an exercise in personal development and self-understanding, but so too can 4k For Cancer.  Maybe it will not be all about the “adventure.”  Maybe it will be about coming to terms with my own story.

Nothing quite like Goodbye

Tags

Future, Goodbye, Life, paths, Relationships

There is nothing quite like goodbye. The world is large and our paths are unknown. Every twist is a new adventure, every turn a new chance. But we must take care not to become lost in the folds of time and space. We must use the past to ground us. For if we become untethered from our origin, our paths will drift.  And as they drift they will unwind and separate into nothingness, leaving behind all that we have gathered in our journey.

Just Like Poppop

Tags

Calm, Introspection, Peaceful, Poppop, Tranquil

When I grow up I want to have a porch and a chair so i can sit outside and rock, just like Poppop use to do. It is so peaceful here.

Night by Ellie Wiesel

Tags

Elie Wiesel, Evil, Holocaust, Horror, Night

“I’ve got more faith in Hitler than in anyone else.  He’s the only one who’s kept his promises, all his promises, to the Jewish people.”

Tonight I shut out the world and read Night.  It’s short and I finished in a matter of hours.  I feel like it all went by so fast.  It was like I was watching a movie unfold.  The pictures swam before me, I saw everything there was to see, and I was there, alongside Eliezer, every step of the way.  But now it’s a ghost of a memory.  I read every word, felt every line, but it all fades before me.  I see isolated scenes, scenes of brutality, scenes of sadness.  This was not a story but a collection of terrors.  I see the boy struggling to breathe, his body too light to pleasure him the quick death of the noose.  I see the father, beaten alive by his son over a piece of bread.  I see the son’s body next to his, killed by the fiendish hunger of others.

Night is not a book…it is an experience.  There is a story throughout the book, weaving together the events.  But the story does not mean a thing.  It fades into the lines, overshadowed by the unbearable images it creates.  The Holocaust is one of the greatest tragedies of humanity, and we can never understand it.  Stories mean nothing; numbers mean even less.  For a moment I felt the pain of a child, but even this is nothing compared to the terror of what can hardly be called life.

Nothing can truly describe the horrors, this I know.  And what’s worse is nothing can make us learn well enough the atrocities of man to cause us to change our ways.  No, man will forever be subject to weakness.

Right Now – Fort Minor

Tags

Fort Minor, Mike Shinoda, Music

I was just lying in bed trying to do some homework when somehow the lyrics caught my attention.  I’ve heard this a few times before but this is the first time I listened.  It stopped me short…

What Is Important?

Tags

Choices, Future, Love, Purpose

I find it interesting that this is really the ultimate question of my life, and has been for years.  These three simple words rival all those other weighty three words combos: I love you.  I miss you.  I am sorry.  If you stop and think about it, What is Important? defines how we use those other admissions.  They simple act of relatively valuing the things in our life completely defines everything that is and will ever be.  Is success more important than love?  Will it always be this way, or just while we are young and flexible?  Actually, if you think about it shouldn’t we dedicate more of youth’s flexibility and vigor to love? After all, I hear it gets harder and harder to meet people when you begin to leave the institutions that make finding people so easy (college).

I spend so much time fretting about what I need to do that a lot of time I forget that I don’t need to do any of it.    Hell, I don’t even need to finish college.  These are only things I want to do because I believe they will help me pursue a better life.  Now, when you put it in terms of quality of life, suddenly things become more complicated.  I could work really hard and maybe be rewarded for my endeavors, or I could take a more relaxed approach to college and immerse myself in the unique social atmosphere that exists in no other institution on this Earth.  Essentially, I could be the irresponsible kid/teen/guy I never was.  Wow, why is life so complicated?

Our live are only as complicated as we make them, and sometimes we need to be reminded just how silly we are.  Luckily I have a lot of support when it comes to telling me how I’m screwing up, and someone is always around to steer me in the right direction.  I mean that in the most positive way though, and just last night someone special made me realize that the way I live, with all my commitments and my meticulously planned schedule, is about as far from my ideal as I could ever be.

If you ask me my ideal lifestyle you will undoubtedly get a mix of purposeful work and meaningful relationships.  What you might not hear me say is freedom and introspection, yet these are two things I hold dear.  When I am free to move and grow as I please I am most happy.  And when I can reflect on my life and the world around me I can feel the weight of ages pass over me. It is as if I am making a connection with the past; a connection to that fundamental human spirit that lives in us all.  It is cloaked in the folds of manufactured purpose, but under the veil we can all relate to the need to feel satisfied.

You know, above all else I think that is the word.  Satisfaction.  Are you satisfied with your life?  Are you satisfied when you give up something fun and important to do something you think you need to do?  Or are you satisfied living a life of mediocre productivity?  Everyone knows the feeling of satisfaction.  Look for it.  Pursue it.  Find it.  When you’re satisfied those important things will come easy.  You will confess your love.  You will show your appreciation.  You will admit your wrongs.

And you definitely won’t be wasting your time trying to figure our what you’re doing with your life 😉