Average Case

Our world is mostly optimized for the average case, meaning that you will encounter minimal friction when seeking an average outcome. For example, if you want to grab $100 in cash from the bank, you can very easily stop by the ATM. But you’ll have to jump through a lot more hoops to withdraw $100,000 in cash, even if you have that money in your account. This makes mathematical sense: probably over 99% of cash withdrawals are under $1,000, so for the bank it’s not really worth making the process for >$1,000 withdrawals any smoother. And this discrepancy is fairly broad: a trip to the grocery store is simple if you get all the typical brand-name foods but more difficult if you want to pick out the absolute healthiest options; meeting people for surface-level small talk is much easier than finding a group of people to share a thought-provoking conversation with.

Unfortunately, if you are not satisfied with the average case outcome, you will need to go out of your way to seek something better. This feels wrong, because encountering friction signals to us that maybe we should take a step back. But if you want to start eating healthier, buying high-quality groceries and preparing home-cooked meals will be difficult. If you want to take the most engaging and intellectually challenging courses at your university, you’ll have to put a lot more time into picking out your schedule and potentially getting permission to enroll in advanced courses. Just because every little part of the process is harder doesn’t mean that you’re doing the wrong thing. It just means that the world wasn’t optimized for you. The systems in place don’t care to make your life easier, because you’re so far out of the average user that the cost-benefit tradeoff just doesn’t make sense for them.

I used to resent the friction that came with pursuing something out of the norm. But another important note: falling into the out-of-average case doesn’t mean that you’re right and everyone else is wrong. And the added struggle should not be taken personally. The world can’t be optimized for everyone all at once; if you happen to want something different, the healthiest approach is to accept the price and pay it.