Core77

The NYTimes has a provocative piece in yesterday's Science section entitled The Advantages of Closing a Few Doors, and it's a must-read for designers. Somewhere between Paul Budnitz's argument that designers have to make sacrifices and Barry Schwartz's breakdown of the Paradox of Choice, John Tierney's piece introduces some intriguing MIT studies but makes sure to drive home the implications of those studies. Here's our favorite bit:

Xiang Yu was a Chinese general in the third century B.C. who took his troops across the Yangtze River into enemy territory and performed an experiment in decision making. He crushed his troops' cooking pots and burned their ships.

He explained this was to focus them on moving forward -- a motivational speech that was not appreciated by many of the soldiers watching their retreat option go up in flames. But General Xiang Yu would be vindicated, both on the battlefield and in the annals of social science research.

He is one of the role models in Dan Ariely's new book, "Predictably Irrational," an entertaining look at human foibles like the penchant for keeping too many options open. General Xiang Yu was a rare exception to the norm, a warrior who conquered by being unpredictably rational.

When was the last time you crushed your client's cooking pot? Or your own?

Find the article here.
Find the book here.