Buridan's ass A paradox which describes how external factor | Self Education
Buridan's ass
A paradox which describes how external factors influence on our decisions. For example, we'd prefer to buy yogurt with attractive package than the same yogurt with less attractive one.
Paradox
It refers to the situations where a donkey is given 2 similar piles of hay and put between them. The distances from piles to the donkey are the same and piles are the same size, color and weight. They are just identical. The problems is that the donkey can not decide which pile he wants to eat, as a result, he'll starve to death.
Why does this happen?
This happens because the donkey do not have any reasons to choose one of them. It will be just thinking about why one of the piles is better than the other one. Since piles are identical the donkey won't make any decision and eventually die.
Result
Of course, if we were in the same situation as the donkey, we wouldn't die of starving, but it perfectly shows this paradox's concept. Comparing with people, this paradox shows us how our choice depends on external conditions, for example, talking about food it's smell, taste, form etc. If it's given 2 cakes, but one of them has a cherry on the top, even it doesn't really change the taste, we're more likely to take this cake.
Original research: Link
#psychology
