Inefficiency is slow, sub-optimal, a waste. Why would anyone want inefficiency when the alternative, efficiency, could be achieved? Our whole industrialised world is geared toward optimizing for efficiency – faster, better, stronger in less time.
But there’s also good inefficiency.
Freeways could be straight. Straight freeways would be way more efficient. But, designers of freeways shape them with gentle curves because it keeps the driver aware and awake – requiring them to pay more attention to the road. A straight freeway may be more efficient but they’re also far more likely to encourage drivers to fall asleep at the wheel. Winding freeways are a good inefficiency.
Walking instead of driving is a good inefficiency because of its benefits to cardiovascular health and bodily strength. The time required to create a true sourdough bread (and the health benefits it provides) is a good inefficiency compared to the nutritional value and speed required for a more industrialised loaf.
When I first started painting with watercolour all I could think about was how incredibly inefficient it was. You mean I have to paint a layer and then, depending on the time of year, wait almost half a day for it to dry? I found myself frustrated with the process. I wanted to start painting, and keep painting. But watercolour (unlike acrylic or even oil painting) doesn’t allow for that. Digital, of course, is the most efficient – but the most efficient at what?
The inefficiency that’s inherent in beautiful, glowing watercolour is, for me, a good inefficiency (turns out it’s also commercially valuable too). Any other medium simply wouldn’t give the same result. And yes, I’ve tried making it more efficient by using hairdryers and warming pads etc, but there is simply no substitute for giving it the time it needs to soak, and run, and dry.
In a world obsessed with productivity and efficiency, there’s still space for the inefficient. In fact, those who dare to lean into inefficiency might find themselves with a scarcity that people value way more than anything efficient.