The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can’t Do

Placeholder author icon
By Edward Tenner ’65

Published Feb. 19, 2018

As a society, we are obsessed with efficiency, and big data promises that we will be able to be more productive in less time. The Efficiency Paradox (Knopf) asks if efficiency is always the most valuable thing, arguing that our assumptions about it lead us to miss things and waste time.

Paw in print

Image
PAW's October 2026 cover, featuring a photo of a loaf of challah bread and the headline "The Braids That Bind."
The Latest Issue

October 2026

Holding on to Jewish life; Katy Anderson Keating ’08’s career in wine; Hollywood loves Princeton.