Systems have an optimum level of performance. It’s the output that permits the elements (including the humans) to do their best work, to persist at it, to avoid disasters, bad decisions and burnout. My penpal Seth has a good definition of maximization: A short-term output level of high stress, where parts degrade but short-term performance is high. Capitalism sometimes seeks competitive maximization instead. Who cares if you burn out, I’ll just replace the part…That’s not a good way to treat people we care about, or systems that we rely on.
Maximizing speed according to Seth
