The Efficiency Paradox: What Big Data Can’t Do

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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.

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The September 2026 cover of PAW, featuring the headline "Minds at Play" written in game pieces — crossword, Scrabble, and Rubics Cube.
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