Rube's World

A Rube Goldberg device is any contraption built from parts whose original functions are completely unrelated. One example is "Mousetrap," a child's game in which a chain reaction eventually results in a plastic cage being lowered over a plastic mouse--if all goes well. The band OK Go built an extremely elaborate Rube Goldberg device from a strange collection of objects that carry a chain reaction from falling dominoes to a finale in which the band members are shot with paint cannons. The long sequence is set to the soundtrack of a nifty tune, This Too Shall Pass. Here's the point: the world is a Rube Goldberg device. Yes, civilization is impressive. The roles, resources, and institutions of the modern world are way beyond the limits of comprehensibility. And things work, pretty much. But don't they often work despite incessant inefficiencies, miscommunications, and wasted energy? Let's recognize that the world is no well-oiled machine. What gets done is obtained by force of will and clarity of vision, not through honed tools or failsafe processes. For Rube's World to work, it requires something from participants. It does not run well on autopilot, but by dint of cleverness and a strong sense of direction, the thing actually produces results.