Speed, dilemmas, and delegation
Three things worth reading
Why I’ve Become More Mindful About What I Delegate
By Moshe Bar
“When the outcome is what matters, delegation is acceptable, but when the experience itself is important, you should do it yourself.”
I’ve considered writing a piece on a related question: in a world constantly encouraging us to delegate so we only do what matters, when do we find that we’ve lost touch with the world we’re supposedly living in?
Like it or not, we’re hardwired to engage. According to Bar, “Brain research confirms that cognitive involvement in process-based activities increases brain plasticity, enriches connections between neurons, and lowers neurodegeneration. This helps explain why retirees who stop working but don't fill their days with other demanding activities experience an especially steep cognitive decline.”
I’m not saying you need to do everything personally forever. I am saying, think about what you do and don’t delegate.
Because an existence that requires no thought or effort to sustain is not a win.
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The Fake False Dilemmas of Early Parenting
By Emily Oster
“If we accept as true the idea that messaging to parents is often far more black-and-white than what the data supports, the interesting question is why. How and why did we get to this point (and how might we get out)?”
Great question. Emily Oster argues that while social media and the extreme content its algorithm demands has influenced the current situation, there’s a second cause: “The current generation of parents with young children — those who became parents in the age of social media — has been sold an idea that our children’s outcomes are completely within our control — that if you do things exactly right, you can ensure a happy, successful and productive kid. Conversely, if you mess up, it’s over for your kid (he or she will not learn to chew) and it’s all your fault.”
This idea is false. As it turns out, a lot of what happens in a child’s life is out of parents’ control. The messaging is designed to remove choice from the equation. It’s a method of flattening the world by making it seem like there’s only one option. Or conversely, that an option is so horrible, it’s unimaginable that anyone would choose it.
It’s also worth asking who benefits from leaning into the false and flat idea that children are some kind of linear process that requires the right inputs to get the right outputs — and tying failure to the parent’s identity.
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Power, Speed and Centralisation
By
“With ever-greater speed comes ever-greater centralisation, which is a rule that is very much in operation today. Increase the speed of messenger travel and you also increase speed and quantity of information transferred, which further centralises and consolidates power…This is why those who control and increase the speed of communication channels are the ones who rule the world, tacitly if not overtly.”
Thomas J. Bevan declares, “Speed is modernity and modernity is speed.”
I don’t disagree. So much of progress falls under the umbrella of doing things faster, a subset of the ever-prized efficiency. Communication speed has increased exponentially, and I believe Bevan is right to question whether that’s to our benefit or someone else’s.
Communication is generally an exchange — it requires someone to initiate and someone to respond. As such, we frequently feel pressure to respond because we feel we owe the initiator something in return for their message. Arguably, they set the expectation for speed.
How are you initiating communication? What's your expectation for the speed of the exchange?
What happens if you choose to respond more slowly when you’re not the initiator? What do you gain? What do you lose?
As Bevan says, “the individual always has a choice.” It’s worth weighing the tradeoffs.
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What you missed
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