The Algae in the Machine: In Praise of Useless Time
The Transactional Trap: Spreadsheets and Handshakes
The business card is too slick. My thumb slides off the corner as I try to pin it against my other fingers, which are already holding a lukewarm glass of sparkling water. The man who gave it to me, a fellow I think is named Daniel, is already scanning the room over my shoulder, his eyes doing the rapid, predatory calculation of a bird of prey looking for its next meal. My own brain is doing the same disgusting math. Who’s here? Who matters? What’s the optimal conversational path through this room to maximize… what? Value? Opportunity? It feels like trying to solve a spreadsheet with handshakes.
We’ve turned our social lives into a series of transactions. Every coffee is a networking opportunity. Every dinner is a strategic alliance. Every weekend brunch is a chance to leverage a personal brand. I’ve read enough articles and listened to enough podcasts to know this is a bad thing, a soulless byproduct of late-stage capitalism. And yet, I checked my own color-coded calendar on the way here and saw I have exactly
44 minutes
blocked for this “High-Value Networking Mingle” before my next scheduled event, a call to optimize a workflow. I am the problem I’m complaining about.
The hypocrisy is so thick I could bottle it.
The Unseen Rot: A Metaphor for Relationships












































