Some time ago I found the “needs and ideas” image below while browsing for some engineering related memes. First, found it funny, but after a thought the fun faded. This little image reveals the universal law of the modern world: The Law of Complicated Answers to Simple Questions.
You know the feeling. You’re humming along in life, and a small, perfectly reasonable need pops into your head. Something like, “I wish I had a simple way to jot down a grocery list.” So you go looking for a solution. You type “digital notepad” into a search bar, and what you find is… an existential crisis.
You are no longer looking for a notepad. You are now evaluating a “Multi-Sensory, AI-Powered, Cross-Platform Synergistic Life-Management Ecosystem.” It doesn’t just hold your list for milk and eggs. It wants to analyze your purchasing habits, predict your future avocado needs, share your list with your fridge (which you don’t have), and send motivational quotes to your smartwatch when it detects you’re lingering too long in the cookie aisle.
All you wanted was to remember the bread.
This phenomenon is everywhere. It’s like every company is terrified of creating something that is merely excellent at one thing. They’re in a relentless race to add features, convinced that we, the consumers, are desperately crying out for more bells and whistles.
