Homer Simpson- Genius

“Trying is the first step towards failure.”
-Homer J. Simpson

I try to be like Homer Simpson. Of course Homer has a few negative, unattractive characteristics, but I attempt to emulate his more lovable and endearing qualities. Homer is a simple man, who enjoys simple pleasures: beer, bowling, donuts, and pork products. Above all things, Homer is generally a happy man. It appears that Homer is the epitome of “ignorance is bliss.” However, valuable nuggets of wisdom are cleverly hidden behind many of Homer’s simple ignorant ramblings.

While listening to Dr. Schwartz discuss the paradox of choice I heard a deceptively simple philosophy that sounded like it came straight out of an episode of The Simpsons: “The secret to happiness is low expectations.” I wouldn’t have been surprised if Homer came up with that one himself. It seems like such a simple philosophy that it is hard to question.

However, it seems that “low expectations” are almost nowhere to be found in the American consuming universe today. Everyone seems to expect (rather highly) great service, quality products, custom orders, free shipping, personalized colors, and a perfect fit for everything they buy. And of course it would seem to be true that high expectations are also the secret to unhappiness.

“American donuts. Glazed, powdered and raspberry-filled. Now how's that for freedom of choice?”
-Homer J. Simpson

The paradox of choice is an interesting concept. At first, it seems counter-intuitive; Like Dr. Schwartz said, this “more choice, more freedom, more happiness” philosophy is deeply ingrained into most of our beliefs. But I agree with him that in most cases there are simply too many choices to be of any benefit.

Personally, when I think about the “paradox of choice” Barnes and Nobles Book Stores come to mind. Typically, I walk into a Barnes and Nobles with the intention of killing some time or with a specific book in mind to search for. I almost always end up with a small stack of books in my hands by the time I have made my way through the store. All of the books I pick out look interesting and entertaining, but when I add up their prices in my head it usually totals an absolutely unreasonably high amount. And so, because all of the books look so good and I can’t make a choice of just one book to buy over the rest I end up putting them all back and then looking for them on Amazon or at Half Price Books. There are so many good choices that are highly visible there (and I can’t afford them all) that I end up not buying any of them.

“If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing!”
-Homer J. Simpson

Theoretically, it costs money for producers to provide so many different choices, customizations, and variations for their products, but they do it anyways. As Dr. Schwartz has shown, consumers resent having so much to choose from and in fact don’t appreciate the wide range of choices. It’s hard for producers to provide so many choices, and it’s hard for consumers to choose between so many options. As Homer J. always said, “If something is hard to do, then it’s not worth doing.”