Excerpt from Maciej Ceglowski’s talk at XOXO 2013.
Complexity can creep into unexpected corners of your life, disguised as necessity. Thoreau gives the example of a farmer who convinces himself he must eat meat in order to stay strong. Since meat is expensive, the farmer tills more land in order to afford it. And the harder he works, the hungrier he gets, in a vicious spiral. Meanwhile, the ox that pulls his plow makes do with a vegetable diet, and is stronger than the farmer will ever be.