The problem with optimizing our lives (w/ Barry Schwartz and Coco Krumme)

Worklife with Adam Grant

TED

Management, Worklife Podcast, Worklife With Adam Grant, Work Life Balance, Ted Talks, Podcast About Work Life, Ted Adam Grant, Adam Grant Podcasts, Ted Podcasts, Adam Grant, Organizational Psychologist, Business

4.8 • 9.4K Ratings

🗓️ 7 November 2023

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Many people are obsessed with optimizing their lives, but this might be a suboptimal way to live. Adam brings together psychologist Barry Schwartz (author of “The Paradox of Choice”) and applied mathematician Coco Krumme (author of “Optimal Illusions”) to discuss the dark side of maximizing everything. The three discuss the unintended consequences of always aiming for the best, debate different strategies for individuals and societies to make better choices, and explore how it’s possible to pursue success without sacrificing happiness.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Ted Audio Collective. This season we worked with our sponsor, Destination Canada to share amazing stories from leaders in Canada.
0:16.0	Stay tuned for a story about Julie,
0:18.1	who's committed to preserving her country's
0:19.8	natural beauty through innovation and sustainability.
0:23.0	Hey everyone, it's Adam Graham.
0:27.0	Welcome back to Rethinking, my podcast on the science of what makes us tick.
0:30.0	I'm an organizational psychologist and I'm taking you inside the minds of
0:33.8	fascinating people to explore new thoughts and new ways of thinking.
0:37.4	My guest today are Barry Schwartz and Coco Crump.
0:45.0	Barry is a psychologist and one of my favorite intellectual provocateurs.
0:49.0	He's best known for his TED Talk and Best Selling Book on The Paradox of Choice,
0:54.0	where he asked the question,
0:55.8	What if having fewer choices can sometimes make us better off?
1:00.0	Coco is an Applied mathematician with a doctorate from MIT
1:03.3	and recently released her first book, Optimal Illusions,
1:06.8	about our cultural attitudes toward optimization.
1:10.2	Despite coming from very different disciplines, Barry and Coco have arrived at a common conclusion.
1:15.0	Aiming for the best isn't always good for us.
1:18.0	I was excited to bring them together to rethink our obsession with efficiency
1:22.0	and explore how we achieve success without
1:25.1	sacrificing happiness. I've known Barry for, gosh, 20 years now, but Coco, we have not met. And I've known Barry now for 20 minutes,
1:43.8	so it's been a bit to chat a bit before you got here.
	...

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