July 19, 2010 at 1:16pm
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Optimize for X
The other day I posed a question via my Facebook status:
If you had a chance to go back in time and change a decision you made, but also be forced to re-live life from that point on, would you?
Within the many thoughtful responses, my friend Vivien linked me to some interesting research on the correlation between choice and happiness. I’m an extreme maximiser, so many of the statements hit home. Here are some thoughts:
As a society, what do we want to optimize? Freedom, economy, security, happiness, status or something else? Each culture tends to have its own understanding of what’s best to optimize, as do individuals. I tend towards economy/freedom, Bush-era U.S. prioritized security, etc. The research informs us that “increased choices is inversely correlated with happiness”, but optimizing for happiness/contentment/satisfaction may not be the right choice. Societies in many dystopian novels (ex. 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451) were engineered for happiness, and were successful apart from the edge-case protagonists who are there to represent the reader. Reading these though-experiments leaves an uncanny feeling - “they’re happy, but that’s not my kind of happy.”
My friend responded to the original query: “there’s no use contemplating opportunity costs” but I think there is! Reflection allows for learning and improving oneself. Sunk costs can’t be recovered, but the decisions that led to them can be salvaged as education. Opportunity costs are even more important to consider: our time and money are limited resources and our choices are often mutually exclusive - missed opportunities are valid costs to consider.
The correlation between ‘being a maximizer’ and ‘depression’ is something I feel inclined to agree with based on personal experience. It’s likely that the chemical imbalances that lead to symptoms of dysthymia and clinical depression also cause ‘being a maximizer.’ Since these are spectrum conditions, it helps explain why with limited choice, some may only experience the maximizer-tendency, and only with more choice begin to exhibit depressive symptoms.
This discussion reminds me of a few writings related to existential despair, which would be a great segway into how religion plays into all this… and money. But, I should really get back to work (but first, some Sartre!)
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