The World Is More Efficient Than We Think
The world is sometimes efficient beyond our intuition. And people often fail to perceive this gap in efficiency.
The Gap Between the Needle and the Machine
I recently bought a Brother sewing machine for 50,000 won (approx. $40) on a second-hand market. This machine didn't just shorten the time compared to when I used a needle and thread; it allowed me to perform complex tasks that I couldn't even attempt by hand.
Sewing machines are not as expensive as you might think. Human manual labor is powerless before the efficiency of machines.
There is a more intuitive example. Imagine bending wire with pliers at home to make and sell paperclips. Anyone who has seen a video on YouTube of a factory stamping them out knows immediately how foolish this business idea is.
The Miracle in Two 500ml Water Bottles
The point where this efficiency gap approaches most dramatically—and terrifyingly—is in the realm of 'energy'.
Let's think of two 500ml water bottles we commonly see at convenience stores. That's 1 liter combined. Have you ever thought about the energy contained in that volume of gasoline?
The bench press weight you lift while sweating at the gym is at most around 100kg. But 1 liter of gasoline moves a 2,000kg (2 tons) hunk of metal (a car) for 15km.
How long would it take a grown man to push a 2-ton object for 15km? Days, maybe months. It might even be impossible. But the internal combustion engine finishes this massive task in an instant with just 1 liter of gasoline—roughly the energy cost of a single cup of coffee.
This is not magic. It is the crystallization of efficiency, compressed to the limit, created by the laws of thermodynamics and engineering. We live in a world where just 1 liter of liquid replaces the physical labor that dozens of strong men would have to do for days.
The Definition of Value: Moving More Efficiently Than the World
Therefore, the true meaning of "creating value" in a capitalist society is clear. It means you are moving more efficiently than the world's average efficiency.
Let's take a cup of coffee as an example. Suppose you grind beans and boil water at home to make coffee. On the surface, it looks cheaper than a cafe. But if you calculate the machine utilization rate, bulk bean pricing, and most importantly, the opportunity cost of what you could earn in your professional field during that time? You cannot make it cheaper than Starbucks' system.
This is why you don't grow coffee but buy it at a cafe. You demonstrate overwhelming efficiency in your main job (whether it's coding, writing, or other work) compared to making coffee. You buy the coffee others have made efficiently with the money earned there. This is the essence of the division of labor.
However, if you declare that you will start a 'cafe business', the story changes. Now you are a producer, not a consumer. You must compete with that massive efficiency system that already exists in the market.
You must produce better results (taste, space, price) with less input than the energy and cost existing cafes spend to make a cup of coffee. If you cannot cross the threshold of efficiency that the world has established, your shop will fall into the realm of a romantic hobby and be eliminated from the market.
Conclusion: Face the Efficiency
People often say "the old ways were better" or "machines alienate humans," devaluing the efficiency brought by technological progress. But the world confirmed by numbers is terrifyingly efficient. In a world where 1 liter of gasoline moves 2 tons of metal for 15km, there is no place for the mere sentiment of "I worked hard."
Acknowledging this massive efficiency does not devalue humans. Rather, it is a signpost telling me where I should focus.
Enjoy inefficiency as a hobby. But if you want to put something out into the world and be recognized for its value, remember this: You must be more efficient than the system the world has built. That is the world of pros.
(Author's Note) Please do not misunderstand. I am not trying to mock the aesthetics of slowness, like enjoying a tea ceremony (茶道) and brewing tea leaves. I am well aware of the nobility of sewing stitch by stitch to cultivate the mind. Humans sometimes find comfort in the 'act itself' rather than the 'result'. In the realm of hobbies, inefficiency becomes romance and rest.