#overchoice

OVERCHOICE

Like any good tech professional, I jumped on the ChatGPT/Generative AI wagon in the last few years. I've used it for packing lists, project plans, job descriptions, product comparisons.... All these "applications" or uses of GenAI used information the AI grabbed from the internet. It didn't occur to me until this morning that I could feed it information and ask it to build me something -- something I knew I could code, but would take me a while to write all the arguments/rules/randomizing formulas.

So, this morning, I fed it lists of Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, and Sides that I had stored in a spreadsheet. I gave it some rules about things that shouldn't be paired together, told it certain days should include certain things, and asked it to generate me a meal plan. And... it did a really good job.

This same method of writing a plan, with randomization, could be used for:

building outfits from your wardrobe

making a workout plan based on your equipment, target areas, and favorite exercises

selecting items to remove/defrost from your freezer stores

selecting board games from your collection for a weekly game night

building your work time blocks based on your to-do list.

writing a travel plan with places you'd like to visit during vacation

For the meal application, you could also take it a step further and have it build a shopping list/checklist to ensure you have everything in the meal plan either on hand or listed for shopping.

This is a pretty exciting application of GenAI as a personal assistant that arranges your schedule and time. Another step toward personal automation and delegation that helps remove some of the burden of choice.

Perhaps this is the start of a beautiful relationship....

For those who'd like to try it out and aren't sure how to write their prompts, below is a sample of the prompts I used after preparing lists of items in a spreadsheet.

Watching a video titled "The reason you don't play the games that you buy" and upon further viewing the video, in it the narrator proposes the reason is due to "Overchoice". He kinda compares it to when you are hungry but don't want anything in your fridge even though you have plenty of food in there. Which I think is a solid example. I have no examples that come to mind that could further explain that- however I will say this: this feeling of "over choice" extends far beyond just games. It definitely extends into social media platforms and maybe other corners of the internet?

We are constantly being ad targeted and algorithm-ed to the point of over saturating our senses and in some ways maybe even messing up our sensory balance in how we consume things like media.

It's a skill you use every day. Consciously and unconsciously this competence affects your daily life. There are many people who do this very well, but there are even more people who have no idea how to handle it.

This blog is about making choices. More specific, how to make choices and what if you don't master this handy gift. After all, there is nothing better than knowing what you want, isn’t it?

Before, I wasn't so good at making choices. I found it difficult and had no idea how to deal with it. And if I had finally made a choice, it would have cost me more energy than it often provided. Now things are going better, I make clear choices and know what I want.  

هل تعلم ما هي ظاهرة Overchoice أو تعدد الخيارات؟

في عام 2000, قام اثنين من الباحثين بعمل كشك لبيع العسل, عرضوا فيه 6 أنواع من العسل, حدث أن 40% من المشاة توقفوا أمام الكشك وسألوا عن الأنواع.. وقد قام ثلاثة أرباعهم بالشراء أي 75% ممن توقفوا..

أعادوا الكرة ووضعوا 24 نوع من العسل! أي زادوا الأنواع المعروضة.. المفاجأة كانت أن 60% من المشاة توقفوا وسألوا عن الأنواع واختلافاتها.. لكن الذي اشترى فعليا هم 5% من الذين توقفوا..

هناك اختلاف كبير بين نسبة الاشخاص الذين اشتروا بين السيناريو الأول والثاني..

إذا ماذا حصل؟ كل الذي حصل أن الخيارات تعددت! وصارت حالة Overchoice وعندها يحتار العقل وفي الغالب ينتهي به المطاف إلى الإنهاك من التفكير, والغاء الفكرة اساسا.

ولهذا نرى أن عباقرة العصر والرائدون مثل ستيف جوبز ومارك زوكربيرج وغيرهم يحاولوا الاعتياد على لبس واحد حتى لا يرهقوا عقولهم بالتفكير في الاختيار.. ويوفروا الطاقة لاتخاذ قرارات أكثر أهمية في حياتهم ومستقبل شركاتهم.. ولهذا هم قادة عظماء.

قس على ذلك أيضاً أن تعدد المهام يشتت الشخص و يشعر بأنه عاجز عن التقدم بالآداء.. بينما من يمسك المهام واحدة تلو الأخرى يشعر بأن هناك سيطره على كمية العمل و إن كثرت..

من يريدون أن يزيدوا تحصيلهم الثقافي.. تجدهم يشعرون بالعجز أمام كم الكتب و المقالات الهائل.. فيشعروا بصعوبة الأمر و يتراجعون عن الفكرة تماماً…

Have you any idea the sheer number of decisions the modern must make? At the grocery store alone we face a staggering number of food choices. I’m sure I needn’t enumerate the types and brands of foods available, ranked by price, taste and overall appeal due to either marketing or visual stimuli. But wait. Do we buy from the local market, the farmer’s market, a big box brand like Costco, or use an…