The book "Sampling in a Nutshell" discusses those tough guys who disdain just working from samples. The author advises them to inform their physician that they do not approve of making inferences just based on a sample and so, the doctor will please take all of the blood the next time blood analysis is needed.
Personally, I love samples and sampling. Admittedly, samples and decisions based on them can be erroneous but properly used, samples are great.
Take the iPod, the iPad, downloading movies or borrowing books from your library completely by computer. Take getting into the stock market or jumping rope for exercise. Whatever you are interested in, you may find a way to sample the food or book or activity just a little for just a little trouble or expense. Find a friend to tell you how they like it, to use the advise Daniel Gilbert gives in "Stumbling on Happiness". He has Harvard evidence that people are not good at predicting how they will feel about something in the future but that getting advice from others can be a definite aid to more accurate predictions. (He knows that most people protest that they aren't like others and can't make good use of the reactions and experiences of others. His research indicates that this objection underestimates the usefulness of testimony from others.)
I came across the book "Little Bets" which is about sampling in the small to get information at low cost that will guide us toward things we like and use and away from things we don't. Sampling or arranging a small project can let us know how an idea will work without getting too much involved with time or expense.
In the case of books, you get a sample of most Kindle books on your Kindle or on your computer for free. It seems to be the first chapter, which is not always the best sample but it can give some idea.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
