The Search Dilemma: When to stop looking and just choose

Which one to select?

Throughout history, we were often concerned about not having enough choices. Options were so limited that making a decision was easy. For example, during the License Raj era (pre-reform period) in Inida, there were only a couple of car models to choose from—just like with most other consumer goods. Essentially, we weren’t burdened by an overwhelming number of choices. But globalization and global supply chains changed everything. Now, if you want to buy something—say, a washing machine— we have a lot of options - wire rage of brands, types, models, and features. Sometimes, at the same price, there might be multiple options with nearly identical specifications. The dilemma is what to pick, in a reasonable time?  

Take watching a movie, for example. During late dinners, we often put on a movie on YouTube. I try to pick a good one, so I search — a lot!!! Every time I am about select one, there is another one to its right, then another one. Then probably another seach. This goes on for so long that, Divya often complains that by the time I finally pick something, dinner might be over. I tell her, 'in a minute' and keep scrolling — by which time she might have already finished eating. And in the end, the movie I settle on is usually no better than the first one I came across. The same thing happens on Prime Video and Netflix. Since I’ve already watched most of the best-rated (Oscar winning) movies, I keep searching for one with great IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes reviews—spending an absurd amount of time just picking something to watch.

It’s not just movies. During long drives, I often need to stop for lunch/dinner but keep on skipping restaurants, thinking a better one is just ahead—only to end up at a place similar to the ones I passed. A couple of times, I’ve even reached areas with no restaurants left and had to drive all the way to the next town to find one.  

Once, while driving from Gandikota to Bangalore, fuel level dropped well below a quarter tank. I skipped a couple of petrol pumps for no specific reason, thinking I’d fill up at the next one. But later there were less stations and then ones I found just had diesel. Some were even closed. I started getting worried, but there was still some fuel left—I could keep going a bit longer. Then we entered a forested area!!! Forget petrol pumps—there was barely anyone around!!! The road was empty, and fuel level dropped to a dangerously low point. Luckily, just as we exited the forest, I spotted a petrol pump at a Y-junction; never been so relieved to see a fuel station in my life. 

A few days ago, I faced the same struggle while picking an audiobook from Amazon’s collection. I browsed title after title, spending an unnecessary amount of time searching. That’s when I realized something had to change — I couldn’t keep wasting so much time just for looking. The real question is: when do you stop searching and just pick something?  

Yesterday, I decided to set a time limit—search for a while and then pick whatever seems good within that timeframe. So, I did just that, found an audiobook, and started listening. A lot of decisions in life is not a life-or-death questions; if the book, movie, or series turns out to be boring or bad, we can always stop and switch to another. That’s far better than endlessly searching and failing to decide.

Do you have any strategies for this? How do you decide when to stop searching and pick one?

Interestingly, mathematicians have an algorithm for this dilemma, famously known as the 'Optimal Stopping Problem' or 'The Secretary Problem'. If you’re curious, you can read more about it in "Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions" by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths.

Sajeev