The Paralysis of Choice

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A desk overflowing with choices — the perfect metaphor for a modern mind. I’ve always wondered why stepping outside my comfort zone feels harder than it should. With so many ways to spend time, I keep circling the same question: am I choosing what matters, or am I just numbing myself with options? Choice overload might be the defining anxiety of our era. One moment I’m browsing an AI course on Coursera, convincing myself I’ll finally finish it. The next, I’m tempted to restart my Sanskrit lessons. And somewhere in that mental whirlpool, a random LLM video on YouTube quietly steals an hour I never intended to give away. It isn’t learning — it’s drifting. I think back to my first iPhone 4. One model. One color. No storage decisions. Apple had already stripped away the noise. Life felt simpler when constraints were built in. Today everything comes in infinite flavors — phones, courses, ideas, careers, spiritual paths, entertainment platforms. Abundance looks empowering,...

Neat adaptation - Da Vinci Code unravels!

The outcome of the movie version of the hugely successful book The Da Vinci Code was eagerly awaited. It is not an easy task to generate frames in perfect adaptation to what was conceived in the book. It requires a lot of planning and skill to etch such a movie. Ron Howard must be feeling happy at the end of the day, as he has done full justice to the movie. The critics might argue that it maybe a good adaptation, but not a perfect adaptation. True, but they should know that the movie lasts only for two and a half hours, and it is no easy task to churn out close to a 1000 pages into a movie in the given time frame.

The story of the book is no secret as it has made big news in almost all the newspapers around the world a couple of years back. Dan Brown brought out a highly controversial topic, and the pros and cons of the theme are discussed even today with the same fervour. Everybody knows the book is unputdownable, and so the movie had to live upto the expectations of the millions of readers. Silas, Saunniere, Langdon, Neveu and Teabing are picturised in exactly the same way as what one would have of them in mind after reading the book. There are particular scenes in the movie where one would expect the finer details to be addressed, but fails to do so. In the beginning scene, when Langdon is brought to the Louvre to "help" the French police solve the murder mystery of the curator, one would have expected something about The Vitruvian Man. But sadly, there is not even a mention of it. There are many such places which are toned down, but obviously there is no choice but to exclude them in a two hour venture.

Tom Hanks, as Robert Langdon, is perfect. He fits the role to a nicety. Audrey Tautou, as Sophie Neveu has done a good job. But the biggest credit must go to Paul Bettany for his role as Silas. His varied emotions throughout the movie are well captured. Overall a nice movie, and while watching, one is not taken to wilderness with respect to the book as it absolutely follows the plot of Dan Brown. It is better to read the book and then watch the movie. It would also save the audience the trouble of I couldn't understand half the things in this movie.


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