Warnings against “efficiency” and “optimization” date back millennia
What started as a birthday reflection on living less “optimized” has turned into a rabbit hole: a cross-century search for who else has challenged the cult of efficiency. This post gathers those voices -from Sappho to the Luddites; hooks to Doctorow- into a living bibliography of unoptimization, an ongoing project I’ll keep expanding as new resonances and missing voices emerge.
A Reading List for Aspiring “Unoptimizers”
I went to my bookshelf, my previous coursework, Bibliographies in a few treasured books, and ChatGPT to design a reading list if I were to teach a class or take a class on the topic of the history of “Unoptimization”. Here’s what I have so far - comments open for anyone to add / tweak what I’ve compiled.
What does it mean when meaning evolves?
Along the way we begin to think. We try on, reject, and are inspired by the thoughts, words, gestures, and expressions of others. We are rewarded, punished, and surprised by how we put shape and texture around our thoughts in a variety of scenarios: with coworkers, in romantic relationships, for online "communities".
Unoptimized
Why is everyone in such a hurry to remove the friction out of every task, every aspect of human life? For much of life, it’s the friction that keeps it interesting.