More Choice = Greater Dissatisfaction

Something so obvious but something that had to be pointed out to me..

I watched this ted talks clip ..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6XEQIsCoM

Since young I have always assumed that going to bigger shopping mall with more stores would mean that I was more likely to find the perfect clothes, perfect gadget, cd etc..

But more choice has no real influence on whether a close to perfect product will be out there. 1 because there is no such thing as perfect, because the idea of perfect is subjective and unstable, but 2, because more choice does not mean better quality or variation.

The main point Barry Schwartz is trying to make in this clip, is that more choice means that people are more likely to be unhappy. More choice means people are less likely to make a choice in fear of making the wrong one. When they do make the choice, they are dissatisfied because they think they could have made a better one.

When I offer you a Blackberry Cellphone or Iphone, the choice is easy. You know what each can offer and you almost immediately swing towards the one that suits you and you are “happy” with your choice. But when I offer you 5 top notch black berries, samsungs, sonys. nokias, htcs, motorolas, Iphones. Are you happy with your choice? Would you rather not want the phone that is waterproof/longer battery/less likely to break/best photos/sexiest/best for facebook/ touch/no touch/pocket size/large/android/apple/windows/symbian???

Or make it easier – Vanilla or chocolate? Now you have the choice of rum and raisin/chocolate chip/cherry/strawberry/mango/pineapple/cookies and cream/caramel/fudge etc etc . Admit it, unless you have tried all of them, you are going to be wondering what the other choices would have been like. Thus dissatisfied.

So what is the perfect number?

I think 3 is pretty good.. 2 is good for competition but 3 really adds the element but of choice. But then i have too many numbers to pick from, 5, 6, 7 are all popping into my head…
Thanks wordpress.. I have no idea which blog package I would like..

Intrigue

Fingers pressing into cold thick mud

Like chocolate slipping between the cracks it moves

Pressing harder, being seduced by the promise of being consumed

knowing the soil will dry up and thirst again

The real cause of ‘evil’ – ownership

In this day and age, it is my belief that older generations are generally unable to work and live more efficiently than the young.

Sure in the context of a post world war society we can understand why our grandparents/ parents and older work colleages insist that the youth have no idea of what “hard work” is.
The idea is that the harder you work, the more successful you will become, the better able you will be to feed your family, make car payments, save money and buy a house. Work hard while your young so that you can relax when your older. Those that didn’t work themselves to the bone were more likely to be seen as lazy or cheating the system..
There are various problems with this:

• Hard work does not mean smart work
• There is little room in innovative systems that uses minimum resources for maximum output. EH HM – TECHNOCRACY 
• There are enough resources in the world for everyone to live comfortably. Obviously not in the current way these are being utilised, but by using technology to use water and food efficiently, there is enough for all – don’t even try and argue with me on this one

Is the world the way it is because of Capitalism? No, communism and socialism came with their own dangerous effects. Money? No – Sure, for a while humans might come together if the money system was abolished but the root cause will remain – the human need for ownership. “What’s mine is mine”. Lust, gluttony, greed and envy are intimately tied to this human need.
With the eradication of this primary urge for humans to own what they would like to see/use often, we might see an actual healthy constructive society emerge.

I think we can use the internet as an important example of the youths realisation of this. Many people who have bought a cd/dvd/book are more than happy to illegally offer this information to be shared across the world to others who might want access to the same media, they realize the importance of sharing because they want to be able to access other media when they require it. The need for ownership is no longer required as long as access is granted.

 

Proud Rape Capital

After the recent gang rape and mutilation, and eventual death of a 17 Year old girl in Bredasdorp, the human mind goes through different stages of trying to understand how something like this could happen – trying to find cause and reason, maybe first hatred and distaste, guilt?  Does it really matter?
http://www.newser.com/article/da4ah1vg1/south-africans-outraged-at-gang-rape-and-killing-of-17-year-old-called-to-action.html

Your feelings and facebook awareness posts are not going to make the slightest difference to prevent similar situations from re-occurring.

Rape is not the cause of an unhealthy nation, but rather a symptom. Just like everything else. Without delving into the real cause of South Africa’s challenges – it might be easier to understand the psychology behind a south african man amongst the group of attackers. After all, South Africa is still the proud title holder of “World Rape Capital” -  surely, if ever there was a great enough of an example to understand rape in society – we should be it. 

Some real stats –

• Women in South Africa are more likely to be raped, than learn to read. Read that again and remain hopeful that the media coverage and presidents mourning will be productive.
• The governments Medical Research Council in 2009 reported more than ¼ of SA men admitted to raping a women or girl, with 9.8% forcing themselves on someone before the age of 10.
• 40% of women in South Africa will be raped at some point in their lifetime

Besides my obvious conviction of the crime, it is my belief that we are a nation constantly fighting to survive, uncertain of the future, whether we will have a job, be able to feed our families, be murdered – everyone is fighting to have some sort of control in a country that is only able to offer it to few.

What can we do? It’s difficult to make castration punishment – much like the death sentence, proof beyond reasonable doubt is often not available. But in a country where millions of orphans don’t have a warm bed or plate of food – does it really matter in the greater scheme of things if a man is stripped of his ability to produce. I think desperate times call for desperate measures.

The day I sold my eggs

My egg donating experience still comes back to me now and again after 4 years. This is mainly because I probably didn’t fully understand the full procedure. I think, even if I was explained everything in detail , I probably wouldn’t have been prepared.

Let me just say that my case was not the norm and that this process is usually pain free and easy. If you are thinking about it- make sure to make use of a fertility clinic that has loads of experience in this specific procedure. medfem sandton in particular is a fantastic clinic.

There are loads of good experiences spoken about here –>;;; ask an egg donor and I have heard great things about nurture
I do not recommend my first programme or clinic.

The course of medication many weeks ahead of the donation is a little blurry in my memory, but certainly the actual day, my body has not forgotten.

When I was 20 years old, a friend and I at university stumbled upon an advert in the local paper about donating eggs. She didn’t like the idea of having children and not knowing about them. I on the other hand have no issue with it, I donated a tiny part of my body that I lose every month. I would not nourish it in any way that would make it my child.

I contacted the organization and was quickly met with a friendly email and an invitation to coffee at Mugg and Bean at North Gate Shopping Centre. The basic procedure was explained to me, making the process sound fairly pain free and easy with compensation of R5000. After filling in the application and attaching a recent photo, only a few days Went by before I was contacted and informed that a foreign couple was very interested in me becoming their donar. The couple and I were given false names and no specific information about each other so that direct contact would not be possible to avoid future difficulties for the potential child.

This is where things were not dealt with properly. I was sent to a fertility clinic which had not previously dealt with my organization or one similar.

After my first examination I was passed a R700 bill by the clinic. I refused to pay and left abruptly informing them that I was not responsible for the payment.

A date was set, perfectly planned incorporating my and the receivers cycles.

I injected my stomach daily with gonal f and Lupron for a few weeks before the egg retrieval date, and a final injection 24 hours before.

I got undresses, put on the gown and lay on the table. My mom with me. I got connected to all the monitors and drip for anesthetic.

The doctor came in quickly, said hello and asked me to rest my feet on the straps and to resist closing my knees. He looked at the clock and began. I kept thinking, shouldn’t I be a little drowsy or something? I immediately felt a sharp pain as the needle pierced through me and I sort of yelped and squeezed my moms hand very tightly. The nurse saw that I could feel the pain and shot all the anesthetic into me.

I moaned much loader this time, hoping the doctor could stop for a second or just look at me. I had a plea in my eyes as I looked at my mom, she asked the nurse again if they could give me something else – the nurse looked quite worried and told me she had given me the limit. I could feel the needle moving around, sucking all the eggs I had farmed with the hormone treatment. After about ten minutes of the very intense pain, the doctor finished and left.

I was given some gauze for the blood and told I could lie down for a few more minutes. A lady from the fertility clinic passed me an envelope with my payment for my eggs. I lay there for about 5 minutes. My mom held me and offered me a nice breakfast in the hospital restaurant and I agreed. Walking towards the restaurant I began to feel faint, and passed out – adrenaline from the experience the nurses informed my mom.

The next few weeks were difficult, I started swelling and had excruciating pain. I informed the agency and they got me a follow up appointment with the doctor. He made an effort to see me on a Sunday, the whole clinic was empty and so it became apparent that he was concerned. After the examination he told me that I had gotten a very rare complication from the donation – ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (potentially fatal) and that I had cysts. And that it was my body that reacted unexpectantly to the drugs. He also began to tell me that donating is usually a painful experience and that usually the donor is related to the donee and does not mind the pain, and that there are certain budgets for an anesthetic – that he couldn’t give me anymore. He asked if I had any other concerns and that I had to raise them there and then. Being in pain and nervous in the situation, I left with some medication.

My symptoms subsided after about a week and a half. I had countless missed calls from the fertility organisation apologizing for what had happened. I responded eventually to an SMS inviting me for lunch.

Meeting one of the young employees for lunch at cresta, I was given R300 to treat myself – yay.

Is it possible for a tree to live forever under ‘perfect’ conditions.

Under perfect conditions, could a tree live for ‘eternity’?

St Lucia, South Africa

General knowledge tells us that trees die due to environmental constraints such as water, space, nutrients, bacteria and air.
But what if a seedling could be planted in an endless pit of moist, rich soil with the right organisms and air etc – Would the tree far exceed the size and life any all current trees on earth?

A Bristlecone pine or Pinus aristata has been noted to live up to approximately 4800 years. Because of conditions today, the same would not be possible. Thus age expectancies noted today are typically only relevant to today. 10 Oldest Trees

I think the secret to the trees survival is that unlike most other organisms, large parts of the tree can die, even the roots – and some layers will still survive. As the tree gets older, the tree also become more suspectible to decay as the area and volumes exposed to the elements increase.

Therefore In my opinion, under the perfect condition, a tree will not die. Someone that tells me otherwise will need to supply proof – of which they cannot.

The question perhaps is not only one of physical significance but perhaps philosophical too as the question could also be posed to other organisms, but also questions the definition of life.

Other Relevant Articles:
Oldest trees dying at fast rate
Worlds Oldest Tree – Sweden (2008)
Global Decline of Big, Old Trees Impacts Forest Ecosystems

Great Ape Steak, Shark fin soup and a sprinkling of rhino horn

Raped Rhino

Although I do feel very emotional about this issue – I do not believe it should be an emotional issue.

Don’t China and other Asian countries stand for sustainability? Surely it would make more sense to breed animals for human consumption than scraping the bottom of the vital ocean to feed curiousity and palates? China is not the route cause of this epidemic, but it is a major role player. See some of Chinas Eating habits

If the government is not behind the massacre then who is? And more importantly, how do we stop it? – Breed for legal trade, use resources (few and far between) to try and protect these animals, or education?

Some endangered animals being eaten to extinction are listed below:

• Sharks – We all know this. What few of us don’t know is that around 100 million shark are slaughtered per year. Sharks form an absolutely vital role in the the earth and they are around 400 Million Years old, and we might not have them around in as little as 2 decades time.
• The Pangolin -  Also known as the scaly anteater, native to tropical regions of Asia and Africa
• Frogs – over 200 million frogs are eaten per year. In particular the Giant Ditch Frog – Also know as “Mountain Chicken”
• Monkeys and Apes. More than 3.4 Million metric tons of ape meat is generated annually from the Congo Basin alone.
• Fresh Water and Sea Water turtles. Almost 10000 tons of freshwater turtles are traded in Southeast Asia for consumption.
• Elephants. interestingly elephant meat can earn up 30 times as much as elephant tusks. The prime source is again the Congo Basin.
• Rhinoceres – Rhino horn is believed to be effective in reducing temperature and used to treat high fevers and convulsions, control haemorrhaging and to cleans the blood of toxins resulting from the intake of alcohol or poison – not primarily as an aphrodisiac! – which makes stopping the trade alot more complicated.

• Bluefin Tuna

Surely for the survival of the human race, some emphasis should be shifted from saving BILLIONS of human lives, to sustaining the natural ecosystem?
More information of savings our sharks
Help save the Rhinos here
SanWild Rhino Protection Programme
Why should we care about endangered species
 

The Future at Ushaka Marine World – Durban, South Africa

Baboons at our Hluhluwe Nature Reserve, South Africa