In 1910, the Los Angeles Times ran a story about a boy who was charged with opening a valve every so often on a water pump powered by a steam engine to release the built-up pressure. His whole job consisted of staring at these whirring pieces of metal all day. Needless to say, the kid got incredibly bored. One day, the supervisor walked in and the boy was nowhere to be found. Yet the pump ran just as it should. The “lazy” boy had contrived a mechanized release for the pump and won his freedom from monotony. The first iteration of the automatic steam engine was born.
Now, this story may be apocryphal, but the boy’s behavior reflects a deeper truth. When we are feeling lazy and disinclined to do something, we often search for an easier way to do the undesirable task at hand. We try to streamline the process and save time and effort. In other words, laziness can drive innovation.
In recent years, some psychologists and business leaders have wised up to this insight, shifting our perspective of what laziness really means. Strategic idleness may actually be a powerful tool. Both Bill Gates and Walter Chrysler have been credited (probably erroneously) with an apt quote: “I always choose a lazy person to do a hard job because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”
Continue reading your story on the app
Continue reading your story in the magazine
THIRD ACT ENCORES
True tales from real people whose accomplishments most unreal came later in life
LAUGHTER THE BEST Medicine
A proud lion spots a chimp and roars, \"Who is the king of the jungle?\"
News FROM THE WORLD OF MEDICINE
DRINKING COFFEE CAN LEAD YOU TO OVERSPEND
Shots to Shoot For
IF YOU HAVEN'T given much thought lately to smallpox, polio or diphtheria, that's because these once dangerous diseases either have been eradicated or are now well controlled, thanks to the success of earlier vaccination programs.
Soothe the Sunday Scaries
How to replace workweek dread with Funday
ALL in a Day's WORK
I was visiting a friend in Minnesota, and we decided to go bowling. However, a squall appeared, dumping a foot of snow on the ground. Fearing the bowling alley might have closed, I decided to call.
Sunshine and Gizmo
Sunshine’s veterinarian says she’s the friendliest bearded dragon she’s ever seen.
Raising the Stakes on Sports Betting
13 THINGS
Magnifique Macarons
FOOD FOR Thought
HUMOR in UNIFORM
“I may not be home tonight... I’m embedded with the troops.”