Optimus Prime

#112: The Optimization Issue, I guess...

Do Easy

I didn’t like Naked Lunch, I couldn’t finish it. It was not compelling at all. I have recollections of reading it in El Retiro in Madrid on a perfectly sunny day and wondering why I was taking my mind out of the paradise and into his literary hell.

I do prefer Exterminator significantly. Most of what he’s written isn’t that compelling BUT it is written well. So I kind of go through, enjoying the prose, but not particularly caring about the plot. Almost the opposite of today’s popular “fantasy romance” novels that are mostly terribly written but have interesting plots. (I haven’t read many, but I’ve heard from more avid readers this is true — and there’s smut).

One of the stories discusses the idea, “Do Easy” or D.E. “D.E. is a way of doing. It is a way of doing everything you do. D.E. simply means doing whatever you do in the easiest, most relaxed way you can imagine, which is also the quickest and most efficient way, as you will find as you advance into D.E.”

Now, take a quick watch of this TikTok.

This is the full piece with some video behind it.

Now. Take that in tandem with this quote.

These aren’t the same but they’re related. For things like every day routine, do easy might be the best way to do things. You find the easiest way to do them and then get them to become basically muscle memory so you always do it that way and no longer think about them.

A game is something you deliberately choose to do. Optimization there then is counter-productive. You are doing thing for the sake of the thing, so optimizing isn’t the point. Though as the video explains, people don’t do things just for fun. Some people have to maximize, which is not good for happiness. Most fun would probably be had satisficing, with other satisficers. This is a pretty deep but fun rabbit hole for those who are unfamiliar. Highly recommend clicking the link and coming back here later. For the lazy, I will paste the section that references what I had in mind.

Mainly the second paragraph hits on what I’m talking about. It’s why the damage maximizers from the MMORPG don’t have fun and don’t play well with others unless they meet certain criteria. Just go play the game. But these gamers would tell me I’m unserious and not want to play with me. Good, it’s not a great match.

While we’re on the subject, here’s a Skin in the Game quote:

Anything you do to optimize your work, cut some corners, or squeeze more “efficiency” out of it (and out of your life) will eventually make you dislike it. Artisans have their soul in the game. Primo, artisans do things for existential reasons first, financial and commercial ones later. Their decision making is never fully financial, but it remains financial. Secundo, they have some type of “art” in their profession; they stay away from most aspects of industrialization; they combine art and business. Tertio, they put some soul in their work: they would not sell something defective or even of compromised quality because it hurts their pride. Finally, they have sacred taboos, things they would not do even if it markedly increased profitability. Compendiaria res improbitas, virtusque tarda—the villainous takes the short road, virtue the longer one. In other words, cutting corners is dishonest.

―Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life

How did this week become all about optimization?

Take a quick read here, another great article by Adam.

The plague of over-optimization

The only part I’m partly averse to is listening to podcasts on fast forward. The reason being, people trying to game the algorithm have ended up with endless bloat and uselessness in their content. So I think it’s ok to listen to podcasts in fast forward, knowing you’ll rewind and slow down the key parts.

That said, I don’t listen to podcasts much anymore, I’ve gone back to audiobooks, which I have no desire to listen to at speed. There is no filler, no repetition there, it’s already been edited, and so you can enjoy as it was meant to.

Don’t speed through things that are good. You’ll be less tempted to speed through things if you try not to consume things that aren’t good.

Ok, here we go.

Optimize the stuff that doesn’t matter. Do the right things, the right way.

Of course, AI can help. I tie it into a tweet I saw earlier and everything comes together artfully.. Maybe in time my wording of this will improve, but I’m not sure my thinking will change.

Lastly, I just found a new* band. Like right now. I’m 3 songs into listening to them on shuffle. I am liking them a lot. Maybe I should make another GG playlist and put them on there. The spring playlist is still in rotation, keep your peepers wide for the summer drop.

*new for me that is

You can also tell that they’re weird, which I love. Look at this album, name, and cover.

Reminds me of the Weekly Appetizer about eccentric song names. Read it if you don’t remember seeing that one. It’s one of my favorites.

Cheers!