[jfarmer]

John Dewey on a similar theme, about the desire to make everything frictionless and the role of friction. The fallacy that because "a thirsty man gets satisfaction in drinking water, bliss consists in being drowned."

> The fallacy in these versions of the same idea is perhaps the most pervasive of all fallacies in philosophy. So common is it that one questions whether it might not be called the philosophical fallacy. It consists in the supposition that whatever is found true under certain conditions may forthwith be asserted universally or without limits and conditions.

> Because a thirsty man gets satisfaction in drinking water, bliss consists in being drowned. Because the success of any particular struggle is measured by reaching a point of frictionless action, therefore there is such a thing as an all-inclusive end of effortless smooth activity endlessly maintained.

> It is forgotten that success is success of a specific effort, and satisfaction the fulfilment of a specific demand, so that success and satisfaction become meaningless when severed from the wants and struggles whose consummations they are, or when taken universally.

[dwaltrip]

Our societies and our people are overdosing on convenience and efficiency.

[the_af]

Agreed.

I remember a few years back, here on HN everyone was obsessed with diets and supplements and optimizing their nutrients.

I remember telling someone that eating is also a cultural and pleasurable activity, that it's not just about nutrients, and that it's not always meant to be optimized.

It wasn't well received.

Thankfully these days that kind of posts are much less common here. That particular fad seems to have lost its appeal.