I think one thing that makes balanced decisions hard is the feeling that we’re publicly voting against the option we didn’t pick. We may know that the two sides were balanced, but, in normal conversation, people don’t talk very much about levels of confidence, so the choice may signal that we had a strong preference. When we’re choosing between two good things (or two people), it looks like we didn’t care that much about the one we didn’t pick. And it probably won’t help to say, “No, no, I care, I’m just indifferent between these choices!”
If we don’t want to use dithering as a signal that we are attracted to both options, what are some other options when out in conventional society? (I’ve just trained my friends to take me literally if I preface a statement with “Take me literally” which really speeds up choosing a restaurant discussions).
I think one thing that makes balanced decisions hard is the feeling that we’re publicly voting against the option we didn’t pick. We may know that the two sides were balanced, but, in normal conversation, people don’t talk very much about levels of confidence, so the choice may signal that we had a strong preference. When we’re choosing between two good things (or two people), it looks like we didn’t care that much about the one we didn’t pick. And it probably won’t help to say, “No, no, I care, I’m just indifferent between these choices!”
If we don’t want to use dithering as a signal that we are attracted to both options, what are some other options when out in conventional society? (I’ve just trained my friends to take me literally if I preface a statement with “Take me literally” which really speeds up choosing a restaurant discussions).