TED2019
Edward Tenner: The paradox of efficiency
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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.
Edward Tenner - Historian of technology and culture
Edward Tenner is an independent writer, speaker, and editor analyzing the cultural aspects of technological change. Full bio
Edward Tenner is an independent writer, speaker, and editor analyzing the cultural aspects of technological change. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Who doesn't love efficiency?
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I do.
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Efficiency means more for less.
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More miles per gallon,
more light per watt,
more light per watt,
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more words per minute.
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More for less is the next best thing
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to something for nothing.
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Algorithms, big data, the cloud
are giving us more for less.
are giving us more for less.
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Are we heading toward
a friction-free utopia
a friction-free utopia
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or toward a nightmare of surveillance?
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I don't know.
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My interest is in the present.
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And I'd like to show you
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how the past can help us
understand the present.
understand the present.
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There's nothing that summarizes
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both the promise
and the danger of efficiency
and the danger of efficiency
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like the humble potato.
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The potato originated in the Andes
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and it spread to Europe
from the ancient Inca.
from the ancient Inca.
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The potato is a masterpiece
of balanced nutrition.
of balanced nutrition.
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And it had some very powerful friends.
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King Frederick the Great of Prussia
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was the first enthusiast.
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He believed that the potato could help
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increase the population
of healthy Prussians.
of healthy Prussians.
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And the more healthy Prussians,
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the more healthy Prussian soldiers.
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And some of those
healthy Prussian soldiers
healthy Prussian soldiers
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captured a French military
pharmacist named Parmentier.
pharmacist named Parmentier.
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Parmentier, at first, was appalled
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by the morning, noon and night diet
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fed to POWs of potatoes,
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but he came to enjoy it.
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He thought they were making
him a healthier person.
him a healthier person.
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And so, when he was released,
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he took it on himself
to spread the potato to France.
to spread the potato to France.
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02:03
And he had some powerful friends.
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Benjamin Franklin
advised him to hold a banquet,
advised him to hold a banquet,
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at which every dish included potatoes.
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And Franklin was a guest of honor.
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Even the king and queen of France
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were persuaded to wear potatoes,
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potato flowers, pardon me.
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(Laughter)
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The king wore a potato
flower in his lapel,
flower in his lapel,
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and the queen wore
a potato flower in her hair.
a potato flower in her hair.
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That was a truly great
public relations idea.
public relations idea.
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But there was a catch.
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The potato was too efficient
for Europe's good.
for Europe's good.
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In Ireland, it seemed a miracle.
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Potatoes flourished, the population grew.
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But there was a hidden risk.
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Ireland's potatoes
were genetically identical.
were genetically identical.
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They were a very efficient breed,
called the Lumper.
called the Lumper.
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And the problem with the Lumper
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was that a blight from South America
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that affected one potato
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would affect them all.
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Britain's exploitation
and callousness played a role,
and callousness played a role,
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but it was because of this monoculture
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that a million people died
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and another two million
were forced to emigrate.
were forced to emigrate.
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A plant that was supposed to end famine
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created one of the most tragic ones.
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The problems of efficiency today
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are less drastic but more chronic.
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They can also prolong the evils
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that they were intended to solve.
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Take the electronic medical records.
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It seemed to be the answer
to the problem of doctors' handwriting,
to the problem of doctors' handwriting,
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and it had the benefit
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of providing much better data
for treatments.
for treatments.
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In practice, instead, it has meant
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much more electronic paperwork
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and physicians are now complaining
that they have less,
that they have less,
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rather than more time
to see patients individually.
to see patients individually.
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The obsession with efficiency
can actually make us less efficient.
can actually make us less efficient.
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Efficiency also bites back
with false positives.
with false positives.
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Hospitals have hundreds
of devices registering alarms.
of devices registering alarms.
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Too often, they're crying wolf.
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It takes time to rule those out.
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And that time results in fatigue,
stress and, once more,
stress and, once more,
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the neglect of the problems
of real patients.
of real patients.
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There are also false positives
in pattern recognition.
in pattern recognition.
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A school bus, viewed from the wrong angle,
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can resemble a punching bag.
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So precious time is required
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to eliminate misidentification.
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False negatives are a problem, too.
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Algorithms can learn a lot -- fast.
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But they can tell us only about the past.
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So many future classics
get bad reviews, like "Moby Dick,"
get bad reviews, like "Moby Dick,"
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or are turned down
by multiple publishers,
by multiple publishers,
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like the "Harry Potter" series.
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It can be wasteful
to try to avoid all waste.
to try to avoid all waste.
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Efficiency is also a trap
when the opposition copies it.
when the opposition copies it.
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Take the late 19th-century
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French 75-millimeter artillery piece.
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It was a masterpiece of lethal design.
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This piece could fire a shell
every four seconds.
every four seconds.
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But that wasn't so unusual.
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What was really brilliant
was that because of the recoil mechanism,
was that because of the recoil mechanism,
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it could return to the exact same position
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without having to be reaimed.
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So the effective rate of firing
was drastically increased.
was drastically increased.
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Now, this seemed to be a way for France
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to defeat Germany
the next time they fought.
the next time they fought.
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But, predictably, the Germans were working
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on something very similar.
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So when the First World War broke out,
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the result was the trench warfare
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that lasted longer
than anybody had expected.
than anybody had expected.
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A technology that was designed
to shorten the war, prolonged it.
to shorten the war, prolonged it.
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The biggest cost of all
may be missed opportunities.
may be missed opportunities.
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The platform economy
connecting buyers and sellers
connecting buyers and sellers
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can be a great investment,
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and we have seen that
in the last few weeks.
in the last few weeks.
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Companies that are still losing
hundreds of millions of dollars
hundreds of millions of dollars
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may be creating billionaires
with initial public offerings.
with initial public offerings.
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But the really difficult inventions
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are the physical and chemical ones.
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They mean bigger risks.
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They may be losing out,
because hardware is hard.
because hardware is hard.
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It's much harder to scale up
a physical or chemical invention
a physical or chemical invention
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than it is a software-based invention.
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Think of batteries.
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Lithium-ion batteries
in portable devices and electric cars
in portable devices and electric cars
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are based on a 30-year-old principle.
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How many smartphone batteries today
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will last a full day on a single charge?
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Yes, hardware is hard.
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It took over 20 years for the patent
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on the principle of dry photocopying,
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by Chester Carlson in 1938,
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to result in the Xerox 914 copier
introduced in 1959.
introduced in 1959.
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The small, brave company,
Haloid in Rochester, NY
Haloid in Rochester, NY
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had to go through what most corporations
would never have tolerated.
would never have tolerated.
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There was one failure after another,
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and one of the special problems was fire.
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In fact, when the 914
was finally released,
was finally released,
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it still had a device
that was called a scorch eliminator
that was called a scorch eliminator
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but actually it was
a small fire extinguisher built in.
a small fire extinguisher built in.
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My answer to all these questions is:
inspired inefficiency.
inspired inefficiency.
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Data and measurement are essential,
but they're not enough.
but they're not enough.
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Let's leave room for human intuition
and human skills.
and human skills.
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There are seven facets
of inspired inefficiency.
of inspired inefficiency.
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First, take the scenic route,
say yes to serendipity.
say yes to serendipity.
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Wrong turns can be productive.
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Once, when I was exploring
the east bank of the Mississippi,
the east bank of the Mississippi,
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I took the wrong turn.
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I was approaching a toll bridge
crossing the great river,
crossing the great river,
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and the toll collector
said I could not turn back.
said I could not turn back.
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So I paid my 50 cents --
that's all it was at the time --
that's all it was at the time --
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and I was in Muscatine, Iowa.
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I had barely heard of Muscatine,
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but it proved to be a fascinating place.
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Muscatine had some
of the world's richest mussel beds.
of the world's richest mussel beds.
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A century ago,
a third of the world's buttons
a third of the world's buttons
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were produced in Muscatine,
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1.5 billion a year.
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The last plants have closed now,
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but there is still a museum
of the pearl button industry
of the pearl button industry
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that's one of the most
unusual in the world.
unusual in the world.
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But buttons were only the beginning.
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This is the house in Muscatine
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where China's future
president stayed in 1986,
president stayed in 1986,
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as a member of an agricultural delegation.
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It is now the Sino-US Friendship House,
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and it's a pilgrimage site
for Chinese tourists.
for Chinese tourists.
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How could I have foreseen that?
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(Laughter)
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Second, get up from the couch.
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Sometimes it can be more efficient
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to do things the hard way.
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Consider the internet of things.
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It's wonderful
to be able to control lights,
to be able to control lights,
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set the thermostat, even vacuum the room
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without leaving one's seat.
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But medical research has shown
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that actually fidgeting,
getting up, walking around
getting up, walking around
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is one of the best things
you can do for your heart.
you can do for your heart.
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It's good for the heart and the waistline.
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Third, monetize your mistakes.
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Great forms can be created
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by imaginative development of accidents.
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Tad Leski, an architect
of the Metropolitan Opera
of the Metropolitan Opera
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at Lincoln Center,
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was working on a sketch
and some white ink fell on the drawing.
and some white ink fell on the drawing.
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Other people might just
have thrown it away,
have thrown it away,
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but Leski was inspired
to produce a starburst chandelier
to produce a starburst chandelier
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that was probably the most notable
of its kind of the 20th century.
of its kind of the 20th century.
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Fourth, sometimes try the hard way.
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It can be more efficient
to be less fluent.
to be less fluent.
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Psychologists call this
desirable difficulty.
desirable difficulty.
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Taking detailed notes with a keyboard
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would seem to be the best way
to grasp what a lecturer is saying,
to grasp what a lecturer is saying,
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to be able to review it verbatim.
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However, studies have shown
that when we have to abbreviate,
that when we have to abbreviate,
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when we have to summarize
what a speaker is saying,
what a speaker is saying,
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when we're taking notes
with a pen or a pencil on paper,
with a pen or a pencil on paper,
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we're processing that information.
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We're making that our own,
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and we are learning much more actively
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than when we were just transcribing
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what was being said.
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Fifth, get security through diversity.
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Monoculture can be deadly.
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Remember the potato?
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It was efficient until it wasn't.
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Diversity applies to organizations, too.
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Software can tell what has made people
in an organization succeed in the past.
in an organization succeed in the past.
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And it's useful, sometimes,
in screening employees.
in screening employees.
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But remember, the environment
is constantly changing,
is constantly changing,
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and software, screening software,
has no way to tell,
has no way to tell,
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and we have no way to tell,
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who is going to be useful in the future.
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So, we need to supplement
whatever the algorithm tells us
whatever the algorithm tells us
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by an intuition and by looking for people
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with various backgrounds
and various outlooks.
and various outlooks.
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Sixth, achieve safety
through redundancy and human skills.
through redundancy and human skills.
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Why did two 737 Max aircraft crash?
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We still don't know the full story,
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but we know how to
prevent future tragedies.
prevent future tragedies.
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We need multiple independent systems.
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If one fails, then the others
can override it.
can override it.
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We also need skilled operators
to come to the rescue
to come to the rescue
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and that means constant training.
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Seventh, be rationally extravagant.
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Thomas Edison was a pioneer
of the film industry,
of the film industry,
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as well as of camera technology.
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Nobody has done more
for efficiency than Thomas Edison.
for efficiency than Thomas Edison.
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But his cost cutting broke down.
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His manager hired
a so-called efficiency engineer,
a so-called efficiency engineer,
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who advised him to save money
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by using more of the film stock
that he'd shot,
that he'd shot,
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having fewer retakes.
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Well, Edison was a genius,
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but he didn't understand
the new rules of feature films
the new rules of feature films
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and the fact that failure
was becoming the price of success.
was becoming the price of success.
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On the other hand, some great directors,
like Erich Von Stroheim,
like Erich Von Stroheim,
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were the opposite.
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They were superb dramatists,
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and Stroheim was also a memorable actor.
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But they couldn't live
within their budgets.
within their budgets.
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So that was not sustainable.
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It was Irving Thalberg,
a former secretary with intuitive genius,
a former secretary with intuitive genius,
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who achieved rational extravagance.
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First at Universal, and then at MGM,
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becoming the ideal
of the Hollywood producer.
of the Hollywood producer.
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Summing up, to be truly efficient,
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we need optimal inefficiency.
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The shortest path may be a curve
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rather than a straight line.
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Charles Darwin understood that.
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When he encountered a tough problem,
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he made a circuit of a trail,
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the sandwalk that he'd built
behind his house.
behind his house.
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A productive path
can be physical, like Darwin's,
can be physical, like Darwin's,
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or a virtual one, or an unforeseen detour
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from a path we had laid out.
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Too much efficiency can weaken itself.
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But a bit of inspired inefficiency
can strengthen it.
can strengthen it.
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Sometimes, the best way to move forward
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is to follow a circle.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Edward Tenner - Historian of technology and cultureEdward Tenner is an independent writer, speaker, and editor analyzing the cultural aspects of technological change.
Why you should listen
Edward Tenner is an independent writer and speaker on the history of technology and the unintended consequences of innovation. He writes for The Atlantic on history and current events, and was a founding advisor of Smithsonian's Lemelson Center, where he remains a senior research associate. He was executive editor for physical science and history at Princeton University Press, he has been a visiting lecturer at Princeton and has held visiting research positions at the Institute for Advanced Study, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy. He is now a visiting scholar in the Rutgers School of Communication and Information and an affiliate of the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School.
Edward Tenner | Speaker | TED.com