Efficiency: pros and cons
Last night, I was happy to discover that my typical shower has dropped to about ten minutes in length. This is an example of efficiency at its best: a short shower conserves water and the natural gas that heats it, and it leaves me more time to do other things. The only loss is the luxury of taking it slow, which is a lost cause for most Americans these days anyway--particularly those with as many different interests as I have.
But efficiency can be a problem. As a geometry lover, I've always enjoyed finding the shortest path to take from Point A to Point B, taking as many diagonals as possible so I can reach my destination half a minute earlier than I otherwise would. But recently, I've learned to avoid biking northwest on one diagonal street here in Redlands, because another major road merges in from the east and there is no stop sign.
This points up a general principle with wide application: the shortest path to a goal is often the most dangerous one. On a global scale, economic efficiency means promoting the rapid development of innovative new technologies and minimizing the time spent on testing for harmful side effects or considering the potential for weaponization. Of course, we can cynically observe that for any technology, "if we don't build it, someone else will." On the other hand, we can also work to form global compacts of governments, corporations, and universities to help guide humanity's technological development with an eye toward a simple truism: efficiency must take a back seat to survival.
But efficiency can be a problem. As a geometry lover, I've always enjoyed finding the shortest path to take from Point A to Point B, taking as many diagonals as possible so I can reach my destination half a minute earlier than I otherwise would. But recently, I've learned to avoid biking northwest on one diagonal street here in Redlands, because another major road merges in from the east and there is no stop sign.
This points up a general principle with wide application: the shortest path to a goal is often the most dangerous one. On a global scale, economic efficiency means promoting the rapid development of innovative new technologies and minimizing the time spent on testing for harmful side effects or considering the potential for weaponization. Of course, we can cynically observe that for any technology, "if we don't build it, someone else will." On the other hand, we can also work to form global compacts of governments, corporations, and universities to help guide humanity's technological development with an eye toward a simple truism: efficiency must take a back seat to survival.