the lightbulb conspiracy

Yes, you're finally receiving this after my totally-not-planned three-month hiatus. New year, but not so new newsletter (but maybe better?), and the same old curious shenanigans.

Today's brain-tickler is about something I like to call "The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy" but we'll get to why that matters in a minute.

Let’s go back to the 1920s for starters.

A few gentlemen walked into a bar... just kidding, they walked into a boardroom. But what they did next was more bizarre than any bar story.

They formed a group called the Phoebus Cartel, and their goal was... wait for it... to make lightbulbs that broke faster.

No, seriously.

They took perfectly good bulbs that lasted 2,500 hours and engineered them to die after 1,000 hours. Why? So we'd have to buy more of them. Not very nice, right?

Apparently, making things that work too well is bad for business.

And it’s not just the 1900s, it’s everywhere.

• Apple got caught slowing down older iPhones (they said it was to "protect the battery" 🤔)

• Printers like HP and Epson tell you they're out of ink when they're still 20% full

• Fast fashion brands like H&M make clothes that fall apart after a few washes

• Tesla can disable features in used cars after they're sold to new owners

• Samsung phones with perfectly replaceable batteries are sealed shut

It makes you wonder: what else in our lives is deliberately designed to fail?

Look around your room right now. How many things have you replaced this year because they broke "too soon"?

There's actually a name for this pattern (because of course there is).

It's called the Shirky Principle which states: Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.

Or in simple words, sometimes companies don't want to fix problems because those problems are actually good for business.

Think about your own life:

• When was the last time you bought a new phone? Was your old one really broken?

• Is your growth stagnant in the gym? Does your personal trainer want you to stay unfit?

Hit reply and let me know – I bet we'll find some interesting patterns.

Until next week! (Promise? Maybe? We'll see...)

~your friend in (literal) chaos

P.S. Sorry for ghosting you for three months. New year, new us! (But let's be real, chaos never runs on schedule.)

PPS: If you’re new here, or have no clue on who’s behind the newsletter, this is for you.