What You Need

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” says the proverb. And so it is — or nearly so. For it would be more precise to say perceived necessity. That is, invention is born of the subjective sense of need, rather than only of actual, natural needs, a truth which may easily be observed by considering the kind of invention typical of our age, most of it answering to very unnatural needs. Today, in fact, we are most adept at inventing what is quite unnecessary, even to the point of ignoring the extent to which our cleverest inventions are perfectly calibrated to obscure our natural needs, thereby ensuring that these will remain unmet.

Inventing for comfort and ease, we obscure and undermine our need for suffering and confusion.

Inventing for safety and security, we obscure and undermine our need for risk and loss.

Inventing for heightened and continuous pleasure, we obscure and undermine our need for moderation and self-discipline.

Inventing for self-promotion and self-aggrandizement, we obscure and undermine our need for obscurity and rejection.

Inventing for endless and global social exposure, we obscure and undermine our need for privacy and isolation.

Inventing for convenience of information, we obscure and undermine our need for inconvenient knowledge.

Inventing for regimented dissemination, we obscure and undermine our need for civilizing education.

Inventing for the mere avoidance of death, we obscure and undermine our need to strive for immortality.

Inventing for immediate and impatient action, we obscure and undermine our need for profound and prolonged thought.

Inventing for readily available attractions, we obscure and undermine our need for distant glimpses of the beautiful.

Inventing for wealth and satiety, we obscure and undermine our need for neediness and longing.