Incoherent Ramblings: Choice

Yo yo yo yo yo loyal readers.  It is I, your column writer, back again to give you a column that will distract you from the tedium of life for… oh let’s say, ten minutes.

I’m sure that I have interesting things to talk about this week; I just need to think about them first.

Just give me a second here.

Ah, I know. I’ll talk about choice. Your entire life is nothing but a big set of choices. Some small, some so big and overarching that you may never actually get to see the consequences of whatever you choose, like chocolate or strawberry. At its core, choice is simply risk analysis. Your brain is trying to figure out which option will give the best rewards and at what cost. Again this varies a lot in life. Sometimes just deciding not to get out of bed one morning can have life changing results. Or not. That’s the thing, you really can’t tell. (Well I can, because I can see the future but this isn’t about me, it’s about you.) So effectively all of life is just a guessing game where you hope that the next door you open won’t lead to a parallel dimension full of only fish or have a bear behind it. No pressure.

Actually, there are some scientists that theorize that, on the quantum level everything is predestined and thus you really don’t have a choice in anything you do. You’ve basically been born to choose to watch mtv over vh1. But that’s all conjecture and way to complicated for me to fit a meaningful explanation into a 600 to 1000-word column.

A lot of things that you think that you don’t really have a choice in are actually choices that you’re making subconsciously. For instance, when your roommate decides to soak your socks, all of them, in lighter fluid and use them as a starter for the local bonfire you don’t have to get mad. Sure you can, but you definitly have a choice in the matter. Now I’m not saying that you shouldn’t get mad in this totally fictional situation, but I just wanted you to know that you have the choice. I want to open you eyes to the possibilities and maybe save a few friendships. Really, it’s the same as turning the other cheek or being the bigger man.

So now that you know that I expect a lot of people to stop before they make a possibly life changing decision like calling the cops. Please note that just like my fear column last week, this more directed towards trivial or small things.  If something is obviously life threatening you should take a small and I mean small amount of time to weigh your options before acting.  For life changing events it could work out in your benefit to wait a little longer, but definitely when lives are on the line quick, deep thought and quick decisive action are what you should shoot for.

Uh… let’s see… is there anything else I want to write about? Uh… nope. Okay great talking to you guys this week.

Oh, uh by the time you read this the U.S. Midterm election will be over, and all I have to say about that is that some people will be very happy, some very sad, and some just won’t care. Just like everything else in life. Though I will say that in the long run it’s pretty trivial as the trees will make their agenda known and exercise their complete and total control over oxygen and therefore the world. All hail the tree overlords. Kirk Out.