Dear Humans,

I put together a lot of IKEA furniture last weekend, and the step-by-step instruction books were helpful. I did, however, read to the end of the manual first. And, occasionally, checked to make sure the dresser I was assembling actually resembled a dresser.

We live in a world full of algorithms, recipes, stacks, hacks, and guides that promise us they will give us what we want if we just effortlessly follow their lead. Just watch a YouTube video. Just ask Siri.

And yet, without the bigger picture, such directions don’t do us much good. We might accomplish a task, but at what cost? Following our GPS app’s turn-by-turn directions will get us where we want to go, without ever knowing where we actually are.

Sincerely,

Mr. Curt