It dawns on me that there may be a correspondence between Steven Johnson’s vision of serendipity as the output of a properly manipulated digital mechanism and Nick Bilton’s belief in the scheduling of units of daydreaming as a means for the optimization of problem-solving. The Like button seems to be part of the same trend. Let’s call it the Industrialization of the Ineffable.
The logic of technology invoked to counteract technology. Recalls Ellul’s la technique; rationalization, regimentation, maximization for efficiency remain the order of the day.