Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

The humble light bulb reminds us that we want good things, but “good” changes depending on the person and the purpose.

The light bulb is going to save the planet. Perhaps destroy it. I confuse the two sometimes.

The incandescent bulb is inefficient. It is if we are considering the amount of light it produces per the amount of power it consumes. Then again, some of us use the incandescent bulb for heat as well as light. Now it is quite efficient while LED and other sources of light and heat are inefficient.

A sheet with one hole cut in it is efficient for covering the upper torso of the human body. It beats everything else. Why would anyone buy a shirt or blouse with colors and cuts and buttons and zippers and all those other things that cost money and add no value?

Well, those designer coverings of the upper torso are efficient at something other than covering. Somehow some persons assign a measure of attractiveness to coverings of the upper torso.

It appears that “efficient” depends on what you are trying to do or have or something or the sort. Passing a law that eliminates an inefficient product means that the law passers choose what the rest of us are trying to do or have or something of the sort.

Are the law passers that much smarter than the rest of us? Is there more to efficiency than we first consider?