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One day at a time

There have already been over one hundred essays published here since November of last year. One a day, that’s what I promised, and only twice (or perhaps even just once?) have I failed to deliver.

This space is not deaf to your comments. By reader request, I have made a heavy investment in archive technology, which you can use to explore the blog, one day at a time.

You can find it right there in the navigation bar to your left, asking for your clicks.

(Yes, some days are blank, but merely because I published after midnight; the next day will feature two essays.)

Thank you for your visits, and for your attention.

Painting: “Phaethon on the Chariot of Apollo” by Nicolas Bertin

Philosophy

Efficiency

Seeing everything as a project is extremely efficient. It’s a formula for success.

When everything is goal-centric, parameterised, and measured, it’s very easy to see which decision to take, which way to go in order to get the most out of each opportunity. Such a strategy bears fruit to anyone capable of running with it, but works perfectly in the hands of those who have rationality at the core of their being.

The danger is that it works too well. Everything turns into figures. We choose the movies we see based on ratings. The video games we play based on the estimated time to finish. We comb dating sites as marketeers comb lists of prospects, and try to find the perfect elevator pitch-message to send to the profiles that exactly match our requirements.

And this works. It works too well. Everything turns into figures. Leisure time is no longer leisure time; it becomes another project. The people we date stop being human beings, they become prospects to evaluate; a date becomes a job interview.

It is not clear to me that efficiency is compatible with humanity.

Painting: “Portrait of Fra Luca Pacioli and an Unknown Young Man” by Jacopo de’ Barbari