It was 1976. I was on the beach in Bournemouth playing inthe sand with my dad when he picked up a handful and asked, ‘Would you rathercount all the grains of sand on earth or all the stars in the sky?’
Of course, I said, ‘The stars.’
Quick as flash, he replied, ‘You’re wrong. There are morestars in the sky than grains of sand on earth.’
Even though I was just nine, I had a response. ‘But wouldn’tcounting stars be much more interesting?’
Give him his due, he agreed.
We live in a world obsessed with efficiency.
Faster.
Shorter.
Simpler.
Get it done.
We microwave instead of cooking.
We replace instead of repair.
We skim instead of read (ARE YOU DOING THIS NOW?).
We accept the summary instead of exploring the subject.
Logically, it makes sense.
Why spend an hour cooking when a ready meal takes fiveminutes?
Why mend something when you can click and replace?
Why read the whole book when there’s a synopsis available?
Why learn something properly when AI will explain it in 60seconds?
I’m thinking it’s because…
Some things are worth doing slowly.
Some things are worth doing properly.
Some things are worth doing simply because it matters toyou.
Efficiency looks clever.
But it comes at a cost when it quietly removes you from theexperience.
I love to repair rather than replace.
You begin to understand how things work.
You make mistakes.
You problem solve.
You feel a sense of pride when it’s fixed.
Reading a whole non-fiction book does this too.
You don’t just collect the headline.
You absorb the thinking.
You follow the argument.
You notice the nuance.
None of this is as efficient as asking AI for a synopsis.
But the reward isn’t speed.
The reward is depth.
This weekend, do something slower.
Cook from scratch.
Fix something small.
Read beyond the summary.
Explore instead of outsourcing your thinking.
Take the scenic route.
Be Brilliant!
Michael
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