I didn’t read the whole article because it had too many words. Probably some editor was demanding a certain length by a certain deadline. I think that the las

I didn’t read the whole article because it had too many words. Probably some editor was demanding a certain length by a certain deadline. I think that the last 100 years or so have seen the west frequently go too far in optimizing everything, not just productivity. From time motion studies on early assembly lines to modern voice response driven customer service, the ability to measure things has caused us to often optimize for the wrong things, or fail to balance optimizations, or over-optimize past the point where it’s good for humans as well as the business. And it’s catchy- nowadays with half the people you talk to, you have to constantly speed up to avoid attention wandering. Maybe I’m just a long winded old fart but honestly attention spans have gone to shit. Maybe that’s not an optimization per se but it evokes the same feelings as IVR mazes and long queues everywhere (airports etc.). It’s the feeling that I’m a burden or tax on someone’s attention rather than a valuable interaction.