Could a Traveler Spend Too Much Time Improving a Decision That Is Already Good Enough?
Optimization creates value until optimization becomes the cost.
Sometimes. The search for marginal improvements can consume time, attention, and opportunities.
A traveler spends four hours comparing hotels to save five dollars per night.
The hidden mechanism is optimization inversion. Beyond a certain point, the resources spent improving a decision can exceed the value of the improvement itself.
People naturally measure what they save but rarely measure what the search costs.
A decision stops becoming better when improving it begins making the day worse.
