Paradox of choice

I might have let loose my thinking on this topic in an erstwhile essay or rant but I cannot remember as always. Thence we are presented with a fresh(er) perspective of what yours truly means by this title.

Growing up in India the paucity of choice was apparent. If we had to travel we were really left with one option in the form of state run trains. They were amidst the dirty laundry of vehicles the most clean shirt or relevant to topic the most logical option. Trains went to more places than other forms of transport and were affordable. Hygiene and crowds were expected to be a problem but did not fare in the calculus absent - choices.

Same went for basic school supplies like shoes (we had uniforms and thus needed black leather uppers) and bags to carry our supplies. Something akin to army BDU we had these khaki'ish colored canvas book carriers that eventually got holes in them; shoes that lasted a year till the feet grew in size and pain. Uncomfortable but they got the job done. Again no option to ask for fancy pockets in bag or style of footwear.

Food came in the form of what was local to the region and we had no idea that people across the planet ate their own version of local which could look and smell different than ours. So at times it was more to meet caloric interest than any particular fondness for cuisines that we consumed and went about. The only time this was not true was during college admissions. In America they call it Affirmative Action but back many decades ago India decided to call it Reservation system and allow people who identified as belonging to over 40 or so tribes, castes (yes that class system based grouping) to be able to apply and secure seats in competitive colleges. That was choice of selecting oneself to belong to a class that was disenfranchised in some way.

Fast forward to life in America. And what I call USO - united states of options!

From plentifully stocked grocery aisles offering at least 50 types of cereal, chips, milk, juice and any other condiment or snack you can imagine this land of plenty can be a doozy. People spend hours staring at the choice be it brick and mortar with an actual metal cart the size of a small car or virtually on a screen in to the wee hours of the night. Oh what do I want and can I get that in XXL or XXS in taupe or mauve or chartreuse. Sometimes that also leads to indecision. Analysis paralysis.

Then if the customer chose to take their chariot and drive to an establishment that sells say jeans he needs to park his wheels outside the premises. There is also choices on how or where to park. Used to be where for first time I saw dedicated space with a blue and white wheelchair icon and realized that a former Prez had passed some laws about disability that led to ramps at restaurants and swimming pools and fancy swing out chairs and the blue placards.

Without admitting bias they then introduced spots for pregnant women to bring their appliance closest to store so as to seemingly avoid a chance of their water breaking while they were 500 yards away from getting their melons or bread or lip balm. Then some spots went to employee recognition and best in class could park closest.

Then came veterans class who were being wooed with spots closer to the store. What? Now I park in the next county over at a playground and simply walk to pick up my milk since I belong to neither of the highlighted class.

Past decade saw a further acceleration of classification and variety entertainment. In our great land we now also offer choices of gender. You are born a male but really think you should have been the opposite version. Hey no problem we can fix that. We also then proceed to announce that as some sort of woke ritual on our email signatures and provide in form of oddly labeled restroom and other infrastructure. I guess if you are the minority all this is great news because you feel more comfortable just like those that are cisgender. I know for those that think this is an odd word - believe me I had to understand it to use it here.

But then there is politics and the case for going too far. There is legislation being considered to allow for transgender surgeries for convicts in jail. Really!

A few good books

On an informal mission to read one book a week as long as the eyes allow for such ambition. Fiction or non is not important as long as it entertains and /or educates. To that end the past few weeks have brought a bounty in the form of some wonderful and then not so engaging literature. Among the notables are - Non fiction category: 1. Good arguments by Bo Seo (how to handle a dispute or debate the most efficient way possible) 2. Genesis by Eric Schmidt (and former US Secy of State Henry Kissinger, who recently passed) - how AI might affect our lives as we know it 3. One in a billion - Zarna Garg (an autobiographical look at an Indian born American woman with a bindi narrated in a standup format - yes it is at times cliched but still funny) Fiction: 1. Personal by Lee Child (a vigilante story with Jack Reacher the giant, nomad protagonist of Child's novels goes hunting for a sniper) 2. Ramayana unraveled by Ami Ganatra (she might disagree about it being a work of fiction but oh wel...

Back in DC

This time for a tech conference in the realm of what else? AI. But applied to an oft neglected space called Knowledge Management. The latter is a community of practice that focuses on analyzing, organizing and making available reams of data that have been gathered over time by various functions within an organization for anyone in the company to utilize. This function or process is ripe for applying AI agents (or agentic AI framework) and optimize for better outcomes. It was informative. More rewarding was getting acquainted with folks who practice this craft as well as learning of what they see in the corporate or public sectors. Since the venue was Washington DC it also afforded me the chance to take evening strolls albeit the weather was trying. With wind chill in the single digit it still is a glamorous place to perambulate through history absorbing what this country has been through since its founding days. I was able to visit the place Lincoln was killed along with his monument t...

Costa Rica

Our first foray into Central America. That elongated isthmus that forms the geographic boundary between two vast continents of North and South America. Specifically landing for NYE 2026 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital city for this region that does not have its own army, instead relying on its big bro the Estados Unidos to the north is a metropolis of approx. 500K people. Largely wilderness and with both a Pacific and Carribean/Atlantic coast the country is rich in bio diversity. In Spanish it means the rich coast so named by Columbus landing in early 16th century and being mesmerized by the local tribes sporting gold jewelry. Our stay included visiting the foothills of a large strato volcano called Arenal and enjoying the naturally heated thermal baths for a while. Lunching amidst lush forest and watching indigenous species of avian noise makers fly overhead. Toucans, some sort of pea hens, multiple song bird species completed the spectacle. Iguanas and a lonel...

Brown Motion

Search This Blog