I stared at my neighbour's 'smart home' setup with a certain amusement.
Alexa controlling his lights, his heating, his music.
'You should get one,' he urged. 'Makes everything effortless.'
I didn't tell him I've been deliberately making things harder lately. Brewing tea with loose leaves instead of bags. Writing letters longhand. Walking to shops I could drive to.
At 67, I've developed a theory: our brains don't need more efficiency.
They need resistance.
Neurologists call it 'desirable difficulty' — the principle that cognitive friction strengthens neural pathways. Like weight training for your mind.
So while my neighbour automates his existence into frictionless convenience, I'm creating micro-challenges that keep my brain building new connections.
It's not technophobia. It's neural cross-training.
Perhaps the most revolutionary act in our efficiency-obsessed world isn't adopting new technologies—it's deliberately preserving productive difficulty.