Lock-in is a symptom of the lack of slack

Lock-in isn’t just a problem with how we organize people. After all, we could sell computers with a more efficient way to manage the keys, but we just don’t for several reasons. Costs are the biggest for Apple and Microsoft. But it’s the emotional toll that users don’t want to learn a new way. It’s easier to follow “the standard” that has been set. But, over time, that cost rises. Not in inefficiency. But in locking ourselves into a path. The path becomes a trench. The trench becomes a hole that feels too big to escape. Of course, I’m not talking about keyboards. When we think about education, politics, economics, and the climate crisis, how powerful is the lock-in? It truly says something about humans when friction to change is present and how much time/energy/resources we have to spare.