We’ve advanced so far as a society in world that we can afford to waste. Whether it’s wasting Google searches because now they come so cheaply, waste food because it comes so easily and affordable, waste gasoline, waste robots on performing silly tasks — or even waste time exploring cat gifs on YouTube!
And that’s such a waste.
It’s a terrible waste of resources. But it’s also fascinating because we’ve been doing — wasting — for so long. In effect, we can now do all the crazy things that are so small and insignificant and borderline worthless — or truly worthless!—because we have the resources, we have robots, we have money (defined as >$2 a day), to do all of this crazy stuff that we never had before.
And that is an incredible gift. An astounding one. To think that many of us can be concerned with SportsCenter, Apple News, and skimming Amazon product reviews. To think that we’ve got the lower portions of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs handled so we can rest, relax, and contemplate what the latest meme series is…it’s awfully incredible.
There’s massive potential there — the possibilities are without bound. We can waste so much time enjoying life. But let’s not forget that that wasting time is not easily retrieved. That is a precious gift.
Seeking out new things advances us even further. Exploration has risks. You may not get that time back if your venture fails. Are you willing to risk waste?
Jeff Beaumont 