Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.07.2013, Blaðsíða 2

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Editor:
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Editorial | Anna Andersen
TRACK MIXTAPE
OF THE ISSUE
The nice people from LungA sent us some
tracks from musicians who will play at
their week long art festival in Seydisfjörður
between July 14 - 21. They're art kids so
they know their shit. This eclectic playlist
includes:
Rangleklods (DK) - Young and Dumb
Ghostigital - Bursting
Úlfur Úlfur - SofduVel Master 2
Grísalappalísa - Lóa
Vök - Before
FM Belfast - We Are Faster Than You
Mammút - Salt
Now, don't you wish you could hear these
songs live? It's not too late to join the festiv-
ities! Consider making this your soundtrack
for the trip there.
LungA Mixtape
Download for FREE
at www.grapevine.is
The Paradox Of Choice
Anna’s 27th Editorial
Making this issue—the annual Best of Reykja-
vík issue—always reminds me of how remark-
able it is that a city of our size has so many
things going for it. Behind every ‘Best of’ win-
ner lies a heated discussion about all of the
other places and things that could—and in
some people’s mind, should—take the title.
It was after one of these discussions—
probably about hamburgers or pizza, people
are really passionate about those for some
reason—that I was reminded of a column that I
wrote three years ago, after spending my first
six months in Iceland. At the time, I was in a
state of limbo—not sure whether to call the
US or Iceland home—and often would pon-
der how disparate life was in these respective
countries, one seemingly over stocked, the
other one on the leaner side.
Rereading the column, I find I still agree
with its premise. But I am also now assured—
as you will too be after reading through our
extensive “Best of” guide—that while Reyk-
javík is certainly no big American city and it
sometimes seems downright silly to be award-
ing a best of to a place or thing with only one
competitor—that there’s more to it than one
might initially assume—judging by the tooth-
paste aisle alone.
--
Here’s some of what I wrote:
Despite Iceland’s recession, the standard of
living here is still higher than it is in many
parts of the world. And, well, having less of
things doesn’t have to be negative at all. Ac-
cording to psychologist Barry Schwartz’s par-
adox of choice theory, more can actually be
less and less can actually be more. It sounds
like an oxymoron, but in terms of happiness,
he argues that it’s not.
American ideals often equate opportunity,
success and happiness with material things
and importantly, the amount of choice we
have in our lives. But, even in 2007, when Ice-
land had one of the highest standards of liv-
ing in the world, how many different types of
cereal could you choose from? Laundry deter-
gent? Toothpaste?
Roughly speaking, the answer is: not very
many. Relative to the US, the land of plenty,
Iceland has never had an abundance of any-
thing. Grocery stores don’t stock cookie
dough ice cream. Fresh fruit and vegetables
are unreliable. There is a limited (and over-
priced) selection of beer.
What’s more, given even less choice in today’s
recession, a study shows that kids in Iceland
are happier than they were in Iceland’s 2007
flat screen and Range Rover consumer craze.
What’s the deal with that? Barry Schwartz
says less is more.
Imagine you are in the States and you run
into your local store to grab some toothpaste.
You pick one up, but then you can’t help notic-
ing that there is an entire aisle full of different
kinds of toothpaste. There’s Crest, Colgate,
All-Natural, Aquafresh, Arm & Hammer, Oral
B, Sensodyne, and Mentadent. There’s gel.
There’s paste. There’s white. There’s green.
There’s blue. There’s red. There’s white and
green, and there’s white and blue. There’s bak-
ing soda, fluoride, special whitener, proven
this, and proven that, and 2 for 5, buy 1 get 1
free, 5.99, 20% off…etc. etc. etc.
Paralysis sets in and you put your original
choice back and pick up another one, and then
you put that back and pick another one. You
reach the end of the aisle with no idea wheth-
er the flashy New Colgate with extra power-
ful mint burst gel, proven to whiten teeth in
less than 14 days, endorsed-by-Dr. Dennis-
toothpaste is the right choice, but you grab it
anyway.
When you try it out and analyze your pur-
chase, you find it’s kind of foamy and you think
maybe it tastes a little funny. You start doubt-
ing your choice because you can, and now
think you should have stuck with one of the
other ones you briefly picked up. This leaves
you feeling a little unhappy.
Okay, maybe this is ridiculous. Maybe the av-
erage person doesn’t brood over their tooth-
paste purchases, but the point is that while
more choice seems like it should make us
happy, it paradoxically does just the opposite.
Now, imagine you are in Iceland and you run
into your local store, pick up a tube of tooth-
paste and run out in less than two minutes.
You are happy with your purchase because
you wanted toothpaste and you now have
toothpaste and it was a simple purchase be-
cause you trust Colgate over EuroShopper.
You go on with your life and think about more
important things. With less choice, you have
fewer expectations and you don’t think about
how the paste is too foamy and tastes funny.
I don’t know to what extent happiness is in-
versely correlated with size of toothpaste
aisles. But, I do find a certain ease living in
Iceland’s relative simplicity and I have felt that
along with the plethora of choices in the Unit-
ed States also comes unnecessary complica-
tions and stress.
--
That said, it’s clear—judging by the passion-
ate reader letters and answers to our call for
votes on Facebook—that people think highly
of a lot of places and things in Reykjavík. And
although it sometimes seemed silly picking
the best of something with only two possibili-
ties, it’s also clear that fewer choices doesn’t
mean that those two possibilities aren’t really
great.
And with that I’m off to the land of plenty to
stock up on toothpaste and all of those other
great toiletries. See you in a couple issues
from now!
Cover Illustration:
Sigurður Oddsson
www.siggiodds.com
2
Contributing Writers:
Atli Bollason
Bob Cluness
Ragnar Egilsson
Sindri Eldon
Helgi Hrafn Guđmundsson
Sylvia Hikins
Snorri Páll Jónsson Úlfhildarson
Anna Millward
Ari Trausti
Kári Tulinius
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The Reykjavík Grapevine Issue 9 — 2013
Founders:
Hilmar Steinn Grétarsson,
Hörður Kristbjörnsson,
Jón Trausti Sigurðarson,
Oddur Óskar Kjartansson,
Valur Gunnarsson
The Reykjavík Grapevine is published 18 times a year by Fröken ltd.
Monthly from November through April, and fortnightly from May til
October. Nothing in this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in
part without the written permission of the publishers. The Reykjavík
Grapevine is distributed around Reykjavík, Akureyri, Egilsstaðir,
Seyðisfjörður, Borgarnes, Keflavík, Ísafjörður and at key locations along
road #1, and all major tourist attractions and tourist information centres
in the country.
You may not like it, but at least it's not sponsored (no articles in
the Reykjavík Grapevine are pay-for articles. The opinions expressed
are the writers’ own, not the advertisers’).
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