How to make inefficiency work for us
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0:01 - 0:03Who doesn't love efficiency?
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0:03 - 0:04I do.
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0:04 - 0:07Efficiency means more for less.
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0:07 - 0:11More miles per gallon,
more light per watt, -
0:11 - 0:13more words per minute.
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0:14 - 0:16More for less is the next best thing
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0:16 - 0:18to something for nothing.
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0:19 - 0:24Algorithms, big data, the cloud
are giving us more for less. -
0:24 - 0:28Are we heading toward
a friction-free utopia -
0:28 - 0:31or toward a nightmare of surveillance?
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0:31 - 0:32I don't know.
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0:32 - 0:33My interest is in the present.
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0:34 - 0:36And I'd like to show you
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0:36 - 0:40how the past can help us
understand the present. -
0:40 - 0:43There's nothing that summarizes
-
0:43 - 0:46both the promise
and the danger of efficiency -
0:46 - 0:48like the humble potato.
-
0:48 - 0:50The potato originated in the Andes
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0:50 - 0:55and it spread to Europe
from the ancient Inca. -
0:56 - 1:00The potato is a masterpiece
of balanced nutrition. -
1:01 - 1:04And it had some very powerful friends.
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1:05 - 1:07King Frederick the Great of Prussia
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1:08 - 1:11was the first enthusiast.
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1:11 - 1:13He believed that the potato could help
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1:13 - 1:16increase the population
of healthy Prussians. -
1:16 - 1:19And the more healthy Prussians,
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1:19 - 1:22the more healthy Prussian soldiers.
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1:22 - 1:25And some of those
healthy Prussian soldiers -
1:25 - 1:28captured a French military
pharmacist named Parmentier. -
1:29 - 1:32Parmentier, at first, was appalled
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1:32 - 1:36by the morning, noon and night diet
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1:36 - 1:39fed to POWs of potatoes,
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1:39 - 1:41but he came to enjoy it.
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1:41 - 1:45He thought they were making
him a healthier person. -
1:45 - 1:46And so, when he was released,
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1:46 - 1:51he took it on himself
to spread the potato to France. -
1:51 - 1:54And he had some powerful friends.
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1:54 - 1:59Benjamin Franklin
advised him to hold a banquet, -
1:59 - 2:02at which every dish included potatoes.
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2:03 - 2:06And Franklin was a guest of honor.
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2:06 - 2:08Even the king and queen of France
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2:08 - 2:12were persuaded to wear potatoes,
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2:12 - 2:14potato flowers, pardon me.
-
2:14 - 2:15(Laughter)
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2:15 - 2:20The king wore a potato
flower in his lapel, -
2:20 - 2:24and the queen wore
a potato flower in her hair. -
2:24 - 2:28That was a truly great
public relations idea. -
2:28 - 2:29But there was a catch.
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2:30 - 2:33The potato was too efficient
for Europe's good. -
2:33 - 2:35In Ireland, it seemed a miracle.
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2:35 - 2:39Potatoes flourished, the population grew.
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2:39 - 2:41But there was a hidden risk.
-
2:41 - 2:44Ireland's potatoes
were genetically identical. -
2:44 - 2:48They were a very efficient breed,
called the Lumper. -
2:48 - 2:50And the problem with the Lumper
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2:50 - 2:54was that a blight from South America
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2:54 - 2:56that affected one potato
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2:56 - 2:57would affect them all.
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2:58 - 3:01Britain's exploitation
and callousness played a role, -
3:01 - 3:05but it was because of this monoculture
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3:05 - 3:07that a million people died
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3:07 - 3:11and another two million
were forced to emigrate. -
3:12 - 3:14A plant that was supposed to end famine
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3:14 - 3:17created one of the most tragic ones.
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3:18 - 3:20The problems of efficiency today
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3:20 - 3:22are less drastic but more chronic.
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3:22 - 3:24They can also prolong the evils
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3:24 - 3:26that they were intended to solve.
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3:26 - 3:28Take the electronic medical records.
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3:28 - 3:32It seemed to be the answer
to the problem of doctors' handwriting, -
3:32 - 3:34and it had the benefit
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3:34 - 3:37of providing much better data
for treatments. -
3:37 - 3:39In practice, instead, it has meant
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3:39 - 3:41much more electronic paperwork
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3:41 - 3:45and physicians are now complaining
that they have less, -
3:45 - 3:49rather than more time
to see patients individually. -
3:50 - 3:54The obsession with efficiency
can actually make us less efficient. -
3:54 - 3:58Efficiency also bites back
with false positives. -
3:58 - 4:01Hospitals have hundreds
of devices registering alarms. -
4:01 - 4:03Too often, they're crying wolf.
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4:03 - 4:05It takes time to rule those out.
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4:05 - 4:10And that time results in fatigue,
stress and, once more, -
4:10 - 4:14the neglect of the problems
of real patients. -
4:15 - 4:18There are also false positives
in pattern recognition. -
4:18 - 4:20A school bus, viewed from the wrong angle,
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4:20 - 4:22can resemble a punching bag.
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4:23 - 4:25So precious time is required
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4:25 - 4:28to eliminate misidentification.
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4:28 - 4:31False negatives are a problem, too.
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4:31 - 4:34Algorithms can learn a lot -- fast.
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4:34 - 4:36But they can tell us only about the past.
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4:36 - 4:42So many future classics
get bad reviews, like "Moby Dick," -
4:42 - 4:44or are turned down
by multiple publishers, -
4:44 - 4:46like the "Harry Potter" series.
-
4:46 - 4:50It can be wasteful
to try to avoid all waste. -
4:50 - 4:54Efficiency is also a trap
when the opposition copies it. -
4:54 - 4:56Take the late 19th-century
-
4:56 - 4:59French 75-millimeter artillery piece.
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4:59 - 5:02It was a masterpiece of lethal design.
-
5:02 - 5:06This piece could fire a shell
every four seconds. -
5:06 - 5:08But that wasn't so unusual.
-
5:08 - 5:12What was really brilliant
was that because of the recoil mechanism, -
5:12 - 5:15it could return to the exact same position
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5:15 - 5:16without having to be reaimed.
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5:16 - 5:20So the effective rate of firing
was drastically increased. -
5:20 - 5:23Now, this seemed to be a way for France
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5:23 - 5:26to defeat Germany
the next time they fought. -
5:27 - 5:30But, predictably, the Germans were working
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5:30 - 5:32on something very similar.
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5:32 - 5:34So when the First World War broke out,
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5:34 - 5:37the result was the trench warfare
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5:37 - 5:41that lasted longer
than anybody had expected. -
5:41 - 5:45A technology that was designed
to shorten the war, prolonged it. -
5:46 - 5:50The biggest cost of all
may be missed opportunities. -
5:50 - 5:53The platform economy
connecting buyers and sellers -
5:53 - 5:55can be a great investment,
-
5:55 - 5:58and we have seen that
in the last few weeks. -
5:58 - 6:01Companies that are still losing
hundreds of millions of dollars -
6:01 - 6:05may be creating billionaires
with initial public offerings. -
6:07 - 6:10But the really difficult inventions
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6:10 - 6:13are the physical and chemical ones.
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6:13 - 6:15They mean bigger risks.
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6:15 - 6:18They may be losing out,
because hardware is hard. -
6:18 - 6:23It's much harder to scale up
a physical or chemical invention -
6:23 - 6:25than it is a software-based invention.
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6:26 - 6:27Think of batteries.
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6:28 - 6:32Lithium-ion batteries
in portable devices and electric cars -
6:32 - 6:34are based on a 30-year-old principle.
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6:35 - 6:37How many smartphone batteries today
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6:38 - 6:41will last a full day on a single charge?
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6:42 - 6:43Yes, hardware is hard.
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6:45 - 6:48It took over 20 years for the patent
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6:48 - 6:50on the principle of dry photocopying,
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6:50 - 6:53by Chester Carlson in 1938,
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6:53 - 7:00to result in the Xerox 914 copier
introduced in 1959. -
7:01 - 7:06The small, brave company,
Haloid in Rochester, NY -
7:06 - 7:11had to go through what most corporations
would never have tolerated. -
7:11 - 7:13There was one failure after another,
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7:13 - 7:16and one of the special problems was fire.
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7:16 - 7:20In fact, when the 914
was finally released, -
7:20 - 7:25it still had a device
that was called a scorch eliminator -
7:25 - 7:29but actually it was
a small fire extinguisher built in. -
7:30 - 7:35My answer to all these questions is:
inspired inefficiency. -
7:35 - 7:39Data and measurement are essential,
but they're not enough. -
7:39 - 7:43Let's leave room for human intuition
and human skills. -
7:43 - 7:47There are seven facets
of inspired inefficiency. -
7:47 - 7:50First, take the scenic route,
say yes to serendipity. -
7:50 - 7:53Wrong turns can be productive.
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7:53 - 7:56Once, when I was exploring
the east bank of the Mississippi, -
7:56 - 7:58I took the wrong turn.
-
7:58 - 8:02I was approaching a toll bridge
crossing the great river, -
8:02 - 8:05and the toll collector
said I could not turn back. -
8:05 - 8:09So I paid my 50 cents --
that's all it was at the time -- -
8:09 - 8:12and I was in Muscatine, Iowa.
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8:12 - 8:14I had barely heard of Muscatine,
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8:14 - 8:17but it proved to be a fascinating place.
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8:17 - 8:22Muscatine had some
of the world's richest mussel beds. -
8:22 - 8:25A century ago,
a third of the world's buttons -
8:25 - 8:27were produced in Muscatine,
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8:27 - 8:291.5 billion a year.
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8:29 - 8:31The last plants have closed now,
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8:31 - 8:35but there is still a museum
of the pearl button industry -
8:35 - 8:38that's one of the most
unusual in the world. -
8:38 - 8:40But buttons were only the beginning.
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8:40 - 8:42This is the house in Muscatine
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8:42 - 8:45where China's future
president stayed in 1986, -
8:45 - 8:48as a member of an agricultural delegation.
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8:48 - 8:51It is now the Sino-US Friendship House,
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8:51 - 8:54and it's a pilgrimage site
for Chinese tourists. -
8:54 - 8:56How could I have foreseen that?
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8:56 - 8:57(Laughter)
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8:58 - 9:02Second, get up from the couch.
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9:02 - 9:04Sometimes it can be more efficient
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9:04 - 9:05to do things the hard way.
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9:05 - 9:07Consider the internet of things.
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9:07 - 9:10It's wonderful
to be able to control lights, -
9:10 - 9:13set the thermostat, even vacuum the room
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9:13 - 9:15without leaving one's seat.
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9:15 - 9:17But medical research has shown
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9:17 - 9:20that actually fidgeting,
getting up, walking around -
9:20 - 9:24is one of the best things
you can do for your heart. -
9:24 - 9:26It's good for the heart and the waistline.
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9:27 - 9:30Third, monetize your mistakes.
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9:30 - 9:32Great forms can be created
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9:32 - 9:35by imaginative development of accidents.
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9:35 - 9:38Tad Leski, an architect
of the Metropolitan Opera -
9:38 - 9:39at Lincoln Center,
-
9:39 - 9:43was working on a sketch
and some white ink fell on the drawing. -
9:44 - 9:47Other people might just
have thrown it away, -
9:47 - 9:52but Leski was inspired
to produce a starburst chandelier -
9:52 - 9:56that was probably the most notable
of its kind of the 20th century. -
9:57 - 10:00Fourth, sometimes try the hard way.
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10:00 - 10:04It can be more efficient
to be less fluent. -
10:04 - 10:06Psychologists call this
desirable difficulty. -
10:06 - 10:09Taking detailed notes with a keyboard
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10:09 - 10:12would seem to be the best way
to grasp what a lecturer is saying, -
10:12 - 10:15to be able to review it verbatim.
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10:16 - 10:19However, studies have shown
that when we have to abbreviate, -
10:20 - 10:23when we have to summarize
what a speaker is saying, -
10:23 - 10:27when we're taking notes
with a pen or a pencil on paper, -
10:27 - 10:29we're processing that information.
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10:29 - 10:31We're making that our own,
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10:31 - 10:33and we are learning much more actively
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10:33 - 10:37than when we were just transcribing
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10:37 - 10:39what was being said.
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10:39 - 10:42Fifth, get security through diversity.
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10:42 - 10:43Monoculture can be deadly.
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10:43 - 10:45Remember the potato?
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10:45 - 10:47It was efficient until it wasn't.
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10:47 - 10:49Diversity applies to organizations, too.
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10:50 - 10:56Software can tell what has made people
in an organization succeed in the past. -
10:56 - 10:59And it's useful, sometimes,
in screening employees. -
10:59 - 11:03But remember, the environment
is constantly changing, -
11:03 - 11:07and software, screening software,
has no way to tell, -
11:07 - 11:08and we have no way to tell,
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11:08 - 11:12who is going to be useful in the future.
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11:12 - 11:17So, we need to supplement
whatever the algorithm tells us -
11:17 - 11:20by an intuition and by looking for people
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11:20 - 11:23with various backgrounds
and various outlooks. -
11:23 - 11:28Sixth, achieve safety
through redundancy and human skills. -
11:28 - 11:31Why did two 737 Max aircraft crash?
-
11:31 - 11:33We still don't know the full story,
-
11:33 - 11:36but we know how to
prevent future tragedies. -
11:36 - 11:39We need multiple independent systems.
-
11:39 - 11:43If one fails, then the others
can override it. -
11:43 - 11:46We also need skilled operators
to come to the rescue -
11:46 - 11:49and that means constant training.
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11:49 - 11:52Seventh, be rationally extravagant.
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11:52 - 11:55Thomas Edison was a pioneer
of the film industry, -
11:55 - 11:57as well as of camera technology.
-
11:57 - 12:01Nobody has done more
for efficiency than Thomas Edison. -
12:01 - 12:03But his cost cutting broke down.
-
12:04 - 12:07His manager hired
a so-called efficiency engineer, -
12:07 - 12:09who advised him to save money
-
12:09 - 12:13by using more of the film stock
that he'd shot, -
12:13 - 12:15having fewer retakes.
-
12:15 - 12:16Well, Edison was a genius,
-
12:16 - 12:19but he didn't understand
the new rules of feature films -
12:19 - 12:25and the fact that failure
was becoming the price of success. -
12:25 - 12:28On the other hand, some great directors,
like Erich Von Stroheim, -
12:28 - 12:29were the opposite.
-
12:29 - 12:31They were superb dramatists,
-
12:31 - 12:34and Stroheim was also a memorable actor.
-
12:34 - 12:36But they couldn't live
within their budgets. -
12:36 - 12:38So that was not sustainable.
-
12:39 - 12:43It was Irving Thalberg,
a former secretary with intuitive genius, -
12:43 - 12:46who achieved rational extravagance.
-
12:46 - 12:49First at Universal, and then at MGM,
-
12:49 - 12:53becoming the ideal
of the Hollywood producer. -
12:53 - 12:56Summing up, to be truly efficient,
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12:56 - 12:59we need optimal inefficiency.
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12:59 - 13:01The shortest path may be a curve
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13:01 - 13:03rather than a straight line.
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13:03 - 13:06Charles Darwin understood that.
-
13:06 - 13:07When he encountered a tough problem,
-
13:07 - 13:09he made a circuit of a trail,
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13:09 - 13:12the sandwalk that he'd built
behind his house. -
13:13 - 13:16A productive path
can be physical, like Darwin's, -
13:16 - 13:20or a virtual one, or an unforeseen detour
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13:20 - 13:22from a path we had laid out.
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13:22 - 13:25Too much efficiency can weaken itself.
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13:25 - 13:29But a bit of inspired inefficiency
can strengthen it. -
13:29 - 13:33Sometimes, the best way to move forward
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13:33 - 13:35is to follow a circle.
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13:35 - 13:36Thank you.
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13:36 - 13:39(Applause)
- Title:
- How to make inefficiency work for us
- Speaker:
- Edward Tenner
- Description:
-
Is our obsession with efficiency actually making us less efficient? In this revelatory talk, writer and historian Edward Tenner discusses the promises and dangers of our drive to get things done as quickly as possible -- and suggests seven ways we can use "inspired inefficiency" to be more productive.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 13:53
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for The paradox of efficiency | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for The paradox of efficiency | ||
Joanna Pietrulewicz edited English subtitles for The paradox of efficiency | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for The paradox of efficiency | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for The paradox of efficiency | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for The paradox of efficiency | ||
Helene Batt approved English subtitles for The paradox of efficiency | ||
Helene Batt accepted English subtitles for The paradox of efficiency |