The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar. Yet another book containing multitudes of social science studies to "politely" expose the cognitive misers inside each and every one of us. The message - more choices are bad in most cases and less choices are bad in others. It all depends on how we want to perceive the choices by perpetually honing the feedback system called wisdom (although she never uses the W word).
On hedonic treadmill:
"In American, I have seen the freest and best educated of men in circumstances the happiest to be found in the world; yet it seemed to me that a cloud habitually hung on their brow, and they seemed serious and almost sad even in their pleasures… They clutch everything but hold nothing fast, and so lose grip as they hurry after some new delight." - Alexis de Tocqueville
On Knowledge and Learning:
"You always have some restrictions in jazz. Anyone can improvise with no restrictions, but that's not jazz. Jazz always has some restrictions. Otherwise it might sound like noise. The ability to improvise, comes from fundamental knowledge, and this knowledge limits the choices you can make and will make. Knowledge is always important where there's a choice." - Master jazz musician and Pulitizer prize winning composer Wynton Marsalis
On hedonic treadmill:
"In American, I have seen the freest and best educated of men in circumstances the happiest to be found in the world; yet it seemed to me that a cloud habitually hung on their brow, and they seemed serious and almost sad even in their pleasures… They clutch everything but hold nothing fast, and so lose grip as they hurry after some new delight." - Alexis de Tocqueville
On Knowledge and Learning:
"You always have some restrictions in jazz. Anyone can improvise with no restrictions, but that's not jazz. Jazz always has some restrictions. Otherwise it might sound like noise. The ability to improvise, comes from fundamental knowledge, and this knowledge limits the choices you can make and will make. Knowledge is always important where there's a choice." - Master jazz musician and Pulitizer prize winning composer Wynton Marsalis
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