Fire in the Foxhole
You love incremental improvements
We all like incremental improvements but don’t necessarily recognize that we do.
Originally published in the “Fire in the Foxhole” newsletter. Subscribe.We like incremental improvements and don’t necessarily recognize that we do.
“No, I like giant, or even better, quantum steps.” You may say.
Quantum steps are good, but they don’t happen every day. And most of the time, they are still countless incremental improvements at work; you just don’t realize it.
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You’d buy a slightly better (sounding) mechanical keyboard for yourself on your birthday, new year’s day, whatever anniversary, and you even expect one for valentine’s day.
Because you like mechanical keyboards, and a little tactile or audio improvement excites you. It has nothing to do with productivity but mental satisfaction. You’re encouraged by the satisfaction and dopamine for the next purchase.
That’s how the market and marketing work. Enterprises take advantage of the impulse for incremental improvements and make money from each one’s urge. Can you imagine keyboard companies only do business when major improvements arise?
If you’re in the tech business or an avid game player, you know incremental backups are good. “Save early, save often,” or “SOSE,” they said. By doing that, you keep up with the latest situation and lose the minimum in case something happens.
You don’t do “quantum step” backups because it’s not the best way it works, and something is almost guaranteed to happen with it.
Incremental improvements are good. Evolution takes time, but our economy depends on it to function.
The only exception is war. Wars don’t grant us time, and we are pushed to react fast to survive. Instead of incremental improvements, people propel progress with countless trial-and-error attempts and magnificent failures.
Incremental improvements are good. You gotta love them.
