complexity

Remember when paper towel dispensers were exclusively mechanical?
They did not require a source of electricity. Fewer moving parts. No motion sensors, no motors, lower cost of manufacturing. Sturdy, reliable, efficient. K.I.S.S.

Sometimes, ascending the technological hierarchy results in superior products. Fuel injection is a trade-off between complexity and reliability that results in a net improvement over carburetion. I'm not sure the same can be said for smartboards in classrooms, or automatic checkout isles in super markets.

Technology is always a means, never an end. As a culture we are obsessed with automation. We view processes as problems to be solved, and we employ technology to solve them. There is always a trade-off. If you can buy 10 robots to do the job of 100 men for a third of the price, why on earth wouldn't you?

In the aggregate, how content are we with letting the machines do the work for us while we sit on the couch and watch Netflix? The Paul Proteuses among us always seem to think retrospectively, after we've already automated ourselves into early retirement.