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Why Survival is the Ultimate Feature

As you can see from previous posts, I’m pretty much a fan of N.N Taleb’s ideas on the philosophy of probability. One such idea I often think about is the “lindy effect.” This effect implies that the “perishable” (i.e. biological beings) follow a distribution closer to a Gaussian where life expectancy converges towards a finite mean. In contrast, the “non-perishable” (i.e. some technology) follow a Pareto distribution where the mortality rate decreases with time.

In today’s profit-driven economy, most technology follows a Gaussian distribution or a path of rapid obsolescence. A few devices follow a different path by ageing in reverse, mirroring the Lindy Effect. So if the future life expectancy of a non-perishable piece of technology is proportional to the current age of the object, should you trust it more than a brand-new one? My opinion is definitely, and even more so if you still get enjoyment from the system and it fulfils its task. 

In my personal case, I still own and constantly use a 14 year old Kindle 4, the same with an almost 20 year old PSP 1000. These survivors have already withstood the structural shocks of the market, their hardware survived planned obsolescence and the systems survived battery degradation. These devices have proven a level of resilience a new device has not yet earned. This concept extends beyond hardware and changes my relationship with the content they hold.

Avoiding the Paradox of Choice with a CD Single

What other benefits can we get from old technology in the face of newer and faster systems? While browsing “The Last Bookstore” in Downtown L.A I stumbled upon an old CD single from Korn, one of my adolescence’s favorite nu-metal bands. Why would a physical CD single of Korn’s “Falling Away From Me” catch my attention in an era of infinite streaming? Besides the nostalgic effect and my interest in collecting CDs (LP’s are way too old for me, sorry) I feel that  streaming services provide an illusion of efficiency. They often create a paradox of choice by having every song ever recorded leading to the paralysis of not knowing what to listen to and not focusing on the art. A physical CD changes the experience. The disc provides the mercy of constraint by limiting your options to a few tracks, you eliminate decision fatigue and you increase the depth of your attention. When you own a physical object, you take care of the item and this ritual could force a level of presence an algorithm will never replicate.

What a 14-Year-Old Kindle Teaches Us About Quality

Back to my Kindle 4, I feel that modern technology often fails because of feature bloat. Devices try to do everything. This design choice makes them fragile and susceptible to software-induced death. Older devices like the Kindle 4 or the original PSP have a specific superpower in their singular focus. A Kindle 4 is designed to do one thing which is facilitating reading and transporting many books, and the PSP facilitates on-the-go entertainment fast and simple (I also own a ROG Ally and its not definitely on-the-go and between booting up times, size and complications of modern AAA games, you lose the few hours or often minutes you get to enjoy this art in a month). Because their purpose is narrow, both the Kindle and the PSP remain immune to the distractions and heavy operating system updates destroying multi-purpose devices. This represents true quality, the Kindle and the PSP are devices doing a specific task perfectly, regardless of age.

Individual E-Recycling and the “Anti-Upgrade” Mindset

Moreover, I feel the constant upgrade cycle is a psychological trap. Consuming new technology presents a significant environmental problem. Every new device carries a massive carbon and material footprint. Keeping an old Kindle or a CD player in working order serves as an act of individual e-recycling. Choosing the old over the new is a direct strike against planned obsolescence and represents a refusal to participate in a disposable culture. The greenest gadget is not the one made of recycled plastic, the greenest gadget is the one you already own and have not thrown away.

 Toward a Philosophy of the Enduring

I feel we must stop being consumers of the new and become curators of the enduring. You surround yourself with tools serving you and stop buying tools requiring you to serve them with updates and replacements. My Kindle and my Korn CD or my old PSP are more than retro tech, they represent quality, focus, and resilience that are far more valuable than the fleeting novelty of the newest thing.