Choice, happiness and spaghetti sauce

By Pieter Keushkerian
Editorial team, TED

What can psychophysicist Howard Moskowitz, the man behind the reinvention of spaghetti sauce, teach us about happiness and choice? A lot, apparently.

In a classic TED Talk, journalist Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of how Moskowitz radically changed both the food industry and our perception of choice. Gladwell explains Moskowitz’s theory: that there is no good or bad type of dish, no perfect this or imperfect that, just different types. 

"There is no perfect pickle," he says, smiling in anticipation of the punch line. "There are only perfect pickles."

This talk has changed my approach to buying, well, everything. In a society where happiness is often measured by what we own, we usually find ourselves vying to purchase the most expensive this or the most authentic that. Gladwell's talk reminds me that choice and happiness are personal. 

Put more simply, if one likes extra-chunky tomato sauce, one should buy extra-chunky! That, I believe, is the talk's most beautiful lesson: that only by embracing what truly speaks to us can we arrive at more complete and lasting happiness.