4 ms·

I can't help but think of the author as spoiled and out of touch while worshipping a utopia that never was and forgetting both the brutality of the past and the

I can't help but think of the author as spoiled and out of touch while worshipping a utopia that never was and forgetting both the brutality of the past and the fringes of today who lack much of the benefits. "What has efficency done for us?" is a real straight line, a question that is a set up for a gag the length of an essay that makes "Who is John Galt" look terse. Forget the aquaducts of the romans. Aside from allowing specialization to give increased benefits like advanced medicine, education, a rising standard of living for a growing population with a small minority engaged in agriculture, and reducded environmental impact what has efficency done for us?

adamsmith838 7y ago
He’s talking specifically about disposable consumer tech, cranking out machinery that sits and rots when reality throws a pandemic at us. Chasing new literal machines for the sake of chasing new literal machines It’s the difference between focusing on biology of a tree and not ecology of a forest Not systems efficiency in general, specific efficiencies we’re chasing by describing how much time we put into them relative to other time and resource efficiencies we can look for There’s no efficiency to be found in launching a new phone every couple years? In any context? Maybe your take is what’s “terse”?
- johnday 7y ago
  > He’s talking specifically about disposable consumer tech, cranking out machinery that sits and rots [...] Where did you get this impression from? No such thing is mentioned in the article, not that I saw at least.