The n of 1

File under Cage the Rage

Several years ago I heard a song on the radio by a band called Len. The song was “Steal my Sunshine.” I was instantly amazed by the song and literally rushed out that afternoon to go buy the CD, thinking these guys were geniuses and I couldn’t wait to hear the rest of their masterpiece. That album was a ‘piece’ alright. “Steal my Sunshine” was really the only listenable song on the entire album, and that purchase was, quite possibly, the worst $13.99 I’ve ever spent. I spent 14 bucks for one song.

I felt foolish for succumbing to the n of 1.

In statistical terms, n is the size of the sample set. For example if you flip a coin 5 times, n = 5. As I mentioned in the last post, the larger the sample set, the better off you are in being able to make decisions.

In the case of that album, if I had heard one more song, I would have pocketed the money for something better. To be honest, it wasn’t the first or the last time I made that mistake, it was just the worst.

The problem is we do that for other as well things. We rely on one recommendation, we see one cause, we see one outcome, or we have one experience. Those things influence who we do or don’t date, what purchases we make, what school we go to or job we take, or our opinions of others. And the worst part is when we berate ourselves when our ‘n of 1’-decisions become mistakes.

The Daily Antidote
Don’t base decisions or opinions on an n of 1

The Song of the Day
Although it would make sense to feature “Steal my Sunshine” here, I can’t. It’s actually a pretty awful song. I can’t do that to you or me. However, in honor of the n of 1, the song of the day is my favorite song by a one-hit wonder, Deee-Lite’s Groove is in the Heart.