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Coco Krumme On The Illusion Of Optimization – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #924 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to

In her new book, Optimal Illusions – The False Promise of Optimization, Coco Krumme embarks on a compelling journey to unravel the influence of optimization in our society. Coco’s diverse pursuits – from running a craft distillery on a rural island to making sculptures and flying a small airplane – give her analysis a unique perspective (far removed from the standard academic fare on the subject). With that, she is an applied mathematician with an impressive background, including a Ph.D. from MIT and significant experience in academia and tech. Optimization, a principle initially rooted in mathematical theory, has dramatically reshaped our world. It dictates everything from the efficiency of airline schedules to the algorithmic matches on dating sites to how we figure out our best days. Optimal Illusions is a fascinating read, as Coco explores the history of optimization, highlighting its journey from America’s founding principles to its application by oil tycoons, wildlife ecologists, Silicon Valley technocrats, lifestyle gurus, and beyond. This exploration reveals a complexity where the quest for efficiency – while yielding undeniable benefits – has also led to significant trade-offs, compromising resilience, limiting options, and narrowing perspectives. Coco’s work in scientific computation provides her with an intimate understanding of the pitfalls of optimization’s reach. She argues that while optimization may offer short-term gains in efficiency, it ultimately fosters a society that is less adaptable and more homogenous. The book challenges readers to consider the hidden costs of optimization – from the erosion of human creativity and flexibility to the potential for creating systems that are fragile and prone to failure. For anyone intrigued by the intersection of technology, society, and human behavior, this episode is for you. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose): #924 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

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Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.