10 Reasons Why We Love Making Lists

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Everyday parlance is littered with lists: laundry, grocery, honey-do. When Dick Cheney was asked by then-presidential candidate George W. Bush to find him a suitable running mate, Cheney did what all pols would do: He drew up a short list. (And then he wound up as the VP pick.)

"Enough organization, enough lists and we think we can control the uncontrollable," observed a character on the TV show House. By now you would think there are enough lists. But still we keep jotting things down in an orderly fashion.

Why do we love lists? Let us count the ways...

Read or listen to it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Psychology

3 Comments
Posted February 27, 2009 at 7:30 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. Tom Pumphrey (2) wrote:

Top Ten Reasons I Procrastinate:
1.

February 27, 11:49 am | [comment link]
2. Irenaeus wrote:

I’m an inveterate list maker. If I write down what I need to do, I needn’t worry about forgetting it; my mind is free for more productive and pleasurable pursuits.

But as published lists have proliferated—-lists published on the assumption that other people will want to read them—-I’ve found them increasingly tedious. In some cases (e.g., the breathless lists in Time Magazine), they’re also pretentious.

There are funny lists. There are, rarely, truly enlightening lists. But there are lots of duds.

Why so many? 1. You can cobble together a list without sustained effort or concentration. So it’s perfect for the busy reporter (or other writer) with lots of electronic toys and a short attention span.

February 27, 3:28 pm | [comment link]
3. libraryjim wrote:

Tara Stiles has a good article Facebook including her list of 10 reasons we are addicted to Facebook.

It’s a great companion read for this post! 

(By the way, as soon as I read it, I immediately linked to it from my Facebook page.)

February 28, 11:03 am | [comment link]
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