A weblog by Tom Coates concerning future media, social software and the web of data
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Paralysed by choice...

Posted September 23, 2002 3:45 PM.

Today the new Beck album was released. It had multiple covers. But which one to buy? Which is the right one? Which is the authentic cover and which are knock-offs? Which one expresses my desire for authenticiy most effectively? Which one declares, "I'm not interested in posing, I'm here for the music"? Which one is the most ostentatious? Because I don't want that one. Which one will date the most? Which one is iconic and which are ludicrous? How do you make these decisions, these simple decisions, when there's nothing to choose between them? How long can you stand in front of the counter in HMV paralysed by choice? At what point does indecision, does the inability to act at all, become legitimately frightening?

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