Illusions of Choice

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jul 16, 2026

Days ago: Freedom of Choice or Freedom Versus Choice (or When All Choices Are Incompatible With Freedom)

No service ('self' 'service') vs Service

Today we spent a long time at Primark because people who purchase things with cash and want actual service may need to wait in the queue for half an hour, not just a few minutes. A lot of businesses (shops, banks etc.) use the same tactic. Choice... as in the option to wait vastly longer (if one has patience and won't give up)... the choice to wait for understaffed teams handling an oversized queue. Choice is not everything. Freedom is too vague a term (in English in particular). Choices can be differently bad or equally bad. █

Five Buttons: 40°C, 104°F, 313.15 K (Kelvin)

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