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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PAW’s December 2025 cover, with a photo of Michael Park ’98.
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December 2025

Judge Michael Park ’98; shifts in DEI initiatives; a night at the new art museum.