Jevons Paradox: A Personal Perspective

“I'm dying. Of overwork.” When I read those sentences by Kache, I thought of all the late nights I spent creating just yet another product idea, a research deep-dive, a short story. I indulge with exhilaration but also feel the creeping exhaustion. It’s a good type of exhaustion. Almost romantic and evocative of the Renaissance. The hunger to unravel the world's secrets transformed sore wrists and weary eyes into marks of devotion—almost blissful in their ache. This is the paradox of our time: the very tools designed to free us from labor are trapping us in an endless cycle of escalating work. As our productivity increases, our standards and expectations rise even faster, creating a psychological Jevons Paradox that threatens to consume our humanity in the pursuit of ever-greater output. We become victims of our own efficiency. I sent the essay to some of my most prolific, creative friends, and they all resonated deeply. Faces materialized in my mind like photographs developing in s ... Read full article.