“It works like this: In start-up jargon, the way to make a fortune in [[Silicon Valley]] is to identify a “pain point”—one of the small annoyances resulting from (more jargon) the “friction” of daily life—and then to offer a way to circumvent it. Thus [[Uber]] eliminates the “pain” of having to track down a number for your local taxi company and call it, or trying to hail a cab in the street; digital wallet apps like [[Apple Pay]] remove the “pain” of having to reach into your bag for your physical wallet or cash. The food delivery service Seamless has even run advertisements—tongue-in-cheek ones, but still—boasting that it lets you avoid the agony of talking to a flesh-and-blood restaurant worker; instead, you need only commune with a screen. “It’s true **that everything runs more smoothly this way. But smoothness, it turns out, is a dubious virtue, since it’s often the unsmoothed textures of life that make it livable, helping nurture the relationships that are crucial for mental and physical health, and for the resilience of our communities**.” --- **Tags** -- [[quotes]], [[efficiencies]], [[product-management]], [[resilience]], [[discipline]], [[relationships]], [[growth]] **Source** -- [[202410130434 - B - Four Thousand Weeks]]