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The Art of Choosing

What is freedom? Freedom is the right tochoose: the right to create for oneself the

alternatives of choice. Without thepossibility of choice a man is not a man but amember, an instrument, a thing.

-Archilbald MacLeishPulitzer Prize - winning American poet.



Past is Prologue

Everything begins with a story.- Joseph Campbell



Sheena Iyengar TheS. T. Lee Professor of Business at Columbia

University and a recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award.She holds an undergraduate degree from the WhartonSchool of Business and a doctorate in social psychology fromStanford University. Her research on choice has been funded

by multiple institutes and foundations and is regularly cited inperiodicals and books.THAT^ on the dust jacket of the book was her credentialswhich brought Trevor's attention to this book as well as theneed to teach me a lesson in making choices. Fun huh? Well notvery BUT I did learn many things from this book from theauthors personal experiences as well as her studies from aroundthe world to the America to animals to first graders. All in all,this book has taught me many things which I hope to prove to

you that I have in fact learned.



This book begins with a brief autobiography leading towhy the author has been fascinated by choice. Therewere many restrictions put on her from an early age withher being of theSikh faith as a well as begin diagnosedwith an inherited disease of retinal degeneration whichcaused her to be blind by the time she was in highschool. With her following Sikh beliefs, it alreadydictated what she ate, wore, studied, and later on in lifewhere she would work and who she would marry. Thusmaking choice a rare commodity and enthralling her evenmore to its charms. The author dedicated the last 15

years of her life to the study of choice and her findingshave been written in this book.



Steve Callahan, a seafaring mariner, survived for seventy-six days out at sea on an inflatable raftafter his ship was capsized 800 miles from theCanary Islands.

JoeSimpson, hiking withSimon Yates, brokehis leg while climbing down the Peruvian Andes.Attempting to lower Simpson to safety using rope, he found himself cutting the rope no longer

able to support both of their weights. Just as hewas about to leave a few days later, JoeSimpson appear at their base camp. He hadcrawled five miles across a glacier from the ledgehe fell onto after Yates had cut the rope.

Choosing to Live or Die



Both of these men had two choices laid out

for them: Do or die.Steve Callahandescribed his state of mind in his bookAdrift:Seventy-six Days Lost atSea, ´ Inow have a choice: to pilot myself to a new

life or give up and watch myself die. I chooseto kick as long as I can.µAlthough not all choices are life or death,Iyengar tells us the next time someone asks

you, ´ What would you do?µ reply likeCallahan and tell them, ´ I would choose.µ



Choosing: our President



Zoo: a park like area in which live animals arekept in cages or large enclosures for publicexhibition.Although a zoo is the equivalent to usstaying at a five star hotel with a spa, pool,

game room, and gourmet food at every meal.To them, it goes against every fiber of their

natural instinct of survival. Which brings meto control.



Although zoo keepers attempt to emulate their

natural environment, they are still left depressedand anxiety ridden. Their lack of control in their situation leads to weakened immune systems,ulcers, and even heart problems. Which leads to

Iyengar·s point, that the less control someonehas in their life correlates to their health, inanimals as well as humans. For exampleemployees in the lowest pay grade such as

doormen, were 3 times as likely to die from heartdisease than those of the highest grade workerswere.

the art of choosing pwp

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