1. Choice

Choice is defined, in the Oxford Dictionaries Online, as:

1. An act of choosing between two or more possibilities“.

1.1 [mass noun] The right or ability to choose.

1.2 A range of possibilities from which one or more may be chosen.

1.3 A thing or person which is chosen.

“What does choice look like in today's world?” | Krystal D'Costa | May 3, 2016 | Scientific American at https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/what-does-choice-look-like-in-today-s-world/

"081101-N-0696M-277" CC-BY Expert Infantry at https://www.flickr.com/photos/expertinfantry/5458168907

1.1 What are the conditions for choices?

Broadly speaking, on any path forward, we can choose from:

Condition	Choice path
Placid-clustered environment	Best!
Disturbed-reactive environment	Both~
Turbulent fields	More?

If time only moves one direction, we may never know the results of a path not chosen. If we don't choose, the choices may be made for us.

1.2 What if there's a mismatch between conditions and choice paths?

Collapse?

←←	Environment	→→
Strategy	Placid-clustered	Disturbed-reactive	Turbulent field
Best	✓	Can be pre-empted by competitors	Can be decimated by external factors
Both	Wastes resources through misplaced suspicions	✓	Can be damaged by other parties flailing
More	Raises questions on value of integration	May be betrayed by alliance partners	✓

1.3 Choose as an individual; or choose with a group?

Each human being may be part of a family, a community, and/or a nation. Human beings have free will.

Group
Acquiesce	Co-respond
Individual	Acquiesce	Sins of omissions; potential squandering	Individual subsumed to group
Co-respond	Group subsumed to individual	Creation or destruction

Random could result in consequences (which could be unintended, or unfortunate). May not be able to determine consequences.

Results tend to be analytically understandable, consequences tend to be systemic (and generally scary). People will avoid talking about consequences.

Analytic solutions in search of systemic problems.

1.3 What is the context for the choice?

We make choices in context. We shape contexts.

Contexts can change.