At Ivy league universities and global company workplaces, they're the golden wall.
And access means crossing over to a higher level of existence.
At least, that's the myth.
The Atlantic magazine feature describes how the meritocracy we have built leads to an endless competitive cycle.
The day a child is born, the hunt for a school starts in India. It's probably several times the pressure that parents in the US have to deal with.
The school tag, the activity tag, the extra-curricular tag, the college tag are all progressively aspirational to cross over to a club with limited capacity.
The old boys 'network built defines the career trajectory.
And over the years, even these envied spaces are reaching the limits of admission.
The Chicago University admitted nearly 75% of applicants in 1995. Right now, it's down to 6%.
In India, there was massive media and parental outrage when the 'cutoff', meaning the marks required for admission to some of the top colleges in Delhi was 100%
That means thousands of young adults who made just one little mistake were penalised.
Merit as defined by marks and the multiple parameters including a resume of social service and voluntary activity have become boxes to be checked for applying, not entry.
The margin between success and failure has become a knife edge.
And it cuts through society like a scalpel.
The drizzle of design progress
Small improvements in design happen all the time.
But we barely notice.
The benefits are minimal - a drizzle, but someone thought it needed to be solved
The first one. A white cap under the lid of most oil bottles prevents leakage. Getting that out used to be a problem, unless you slid your nail beneath the edge and popped it out. But recently, I found it was now cut halfway around and pulling it out has become much easier. Like a tab on a can.
In the second one, the lid itself has transformed into an easy to pour point, with a pop-out tab that can be locked back into place.
In the third, the white ring with strands pointing inwards inside the oil bottle regulates the irregular flow of oil when pouring.
Fourth - the way we snip off milk and oil packets cutting off a triangular piece at the edge creates tiny bits of plastic waste that clogs up drains.
Instead, if you were to cut into the packet at an acute angle, it's much easier to pour things out because a natural funnel is created internally for pouring anything from grains to liquids.
And finally, the wireless mouse USB tab. It's tiny and you can lose or misplace it anywhere. So, the design has a storage slot inside the mouse when it's not being used.
What are the design odds and ends improvements you have noticed?
9 to 5 or 996?
And WFH is 24 x 6
Work is worship and the paycheck is salvation.
Doled out in monthly instalments
And instantly paid out to other instalment seekers, either by auto debit or repeated reminders.
What's the alternative?
The way things are going, there isn't one. Unless 996 becomes the new 9 to 5 and things get even worse.
The 12-hour workday, 6 days a week. And then one day to recover before the treadmill begins again. Even bees aren't as busy.
Before you know it, a couple of decades have gone by and there's a sense of having missed out on things - and it's hard to determine what exactly was lost.
Or is it because the gains didn't seem to be worth the trouble? The objectives set with pride and passion didn't seem important once they were achieved.
Somewhere down the line, even Chinese tech companies that pioneered 996 as the model workplace formula seem to be admitting that things have gone too far.
The government has cracked down and slashed the education, gaming and the tech sector as a whole.
Perhaps the 4-day week is what the world needs to move towards.
And expand diverse work options just as much as diverse workplaces. Perhaps look for lesser-known careers that don't grow like Jack's beanstalks' in the fairy tale.
We've maxed out working hours. And there's no way to increase the hours on a clock!
Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.
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