Digital's Analog

Saturday I listened to a podcast of a speech given by Mark Adams, the head of a British shelving company called Vitsoe. His speech dealt with the idea of having too much choice as a bad thing. He referred to a 2004 book called "Paradox of Choice" which theorized around the same idea - that at some point, too much choice becomes detrimental. As options increase the effort involved in making decisions increases, with the corollary that sometimes less is better. At one point in the lecture he referred to a visit to a UN biosphere reserve (I take it something like the equivalent of a national park) in Europe. Many people were enjoying the sunset, but a few spoiled it by operating jet skis and creating noise. Economics would suggest that the more jet ski people the better, as they pay money, while several hundred people looking a sunset does not make money But the more jet ski noise, the more it is ruined for others. This makes me think often of when I notice more traffic here in town. I find myself at first disappointed that the traffic is increasing, but then I think, the more people, the more economic benefit. But at what point would you trade the economic benefit for a more relaxed lifestyle? Extrapolating further, this can become the age old argument of rural vs. city - the rural life offers perhaps a more laid-back lifestyle with less crime, drugs, etc. but the city offers more job opportunities, consumer goods, etc. History has shown that most people cast their vote for the city. I notice that the few times that I do travel to a large city, I can almost feel the social anomie of being one among many with little social ties to the community. This is a well-worn theme, studied by even the first "real" sociologist, Emile Durkhiem in the 19th century. From this concept of loss of social ties found in modern, industrial cities peopled by small nuclear families, comes the theory that crime, mental disorders, and other anti-social behavior increase. What I take from all this is that on some scale, in our technological advance across time, we have rarely failed to trade our more simple lifestyles for more complicated ones offering more choice and creature comforts. We can't turn the tide around at this point - we need large cities and continuous technological advancement to feed, clothe, and care for us in this world of 6.6 billion people. When I see or hear that number, I often think back to junior high when I learned that a petri dish sprinkled with bacteria will become so full of the bacteria that they eventually die in their own waste. While that is obviously an exaggeration of our world, I can't help think about it on Friday afternoons when I can't pull on to the road due to the heavy traffic.

Another point mentioned in the lecture, which in reality was about marketing, was the concept of product attachment. Instead of creating cheap, throw-away goods as has been the theme for the past 60 years or so for consumer items, instead make products that people become emotionally attached to. They will stick with the product, repairing and/or upgrading it, expressing brand loyalty through emotional attachment. Mr. Adam's company makes only 2 or three products, some of them originally designed in the 1960s. Their idea is concentrate only on a few items, allowing them to make them be the best in the market. They are able to make money selling the whole service relationship instead of just a product. By focusing on making their customers happy with great service and very well made products, they are able to do well in niche markets. I was reminded while listening to this of the original philosophy at Volkswagen. When they began selling the Beetle after WWII, there was a conscious decision not to go the Detroit route of "planned obsolescence" but instead continue to make improvements to the same car. Granted, they may have come to this philosophy out of necessity as they did not have the resources to design many new models. However this idea was successful for a long time and played a large role in the historic success of the Beetle. However, in the end VW became like every other large car company - their product lines are refreshed now like any other. That begs the question - how many of us would, say, use the same model cell phone for three years if while the outside was the same, the inside was continually upgraded? I doubt that many (myself included) would do so, as we are so attuned to having the latest fashions.

What did I get out of this lecture? Live in a small town, and feel guilty for all the junk you buy :)


Yesterday I listened to a podcast which contained an interview b Richard Selzer, a retired surgeon turned writer. During the interview he read several passages from the half a dozen or so books that he has written. The prose he repeated caught my attention - it was a rare match of detail mixed with exquisite word choice, dealing namely with the subject of surgery. Afterwards I looked him up on wikipedia and found an article he had written for the New York Times back in 1986 dealing with a malpractice suit. A couple of lines that he used in the article that I especially liked: "My spirits do not soar at the prospect of a battle. I am Ferdinand the Bull. I much prefer to lie down and smell the flowers." Another line: "New Haven goes on being New Haven, the way a watch keeps running in the pocket of a dead man." A third line describing an expert witness: "His voice is deep and meaty. Immediately having left his mouth, it sinks to the floor and spreads out across the room, drifting among the benches". Wow, I wish I could write like that.