The other day, a friend of mine made an interesting reflection about à la carte services while we were watching the Barça-Madrid match. He said that if à la carte services become the norm (which would seem logical, so that we only pay what we use), we will learn less. Because actually, TV channel hopping in times of boredom makes you watch programs that you wouldn’t normally watch, and discover things (about life, celebrity affairs, sports or curiosities) that you would have never known about otherwise. This friend of mine is a doctor. He says that since he no longer receives the medical journal at work that he used to flick through while he travelled on the underground, he now does not discover things about other medical specialities that he used to. We could use the same argument for those restaurants that bring you surprise dishes that you may never have had the chance to try if you had chosen from the menu. Or those complementary activities at business schools, the ones which aren’t part of the course, but are organized by the alumni association and which you actually get as much out of, or more, than what you expected from the class.

We could probably say that à la carte services help you go deeper into what really interests you. But a bit of boredom from time to time while you channel hop, is probably a healthy complementary exercise that helps give you new dimensions.

Carme Martinell

Director General of Continuing Education Institute Foundation