The Soul Cost of Scale
Human systems inevitably evolve from authentic creation to commercial extraction. What begins as genuine expression transforms into optimisation for scale and profit, sacrificing the very quality that made it valuable. The internet evolved from intimate blogs to algorithmic feeds; cities from organic neighbourhoods to planned developments; relationships from authentic connections to managed transactions. The paradox: as systems become more efficient, they lose their soul. Our challenge is not to halt this evolution but to preserve spaces for authenticity within optimised landscapes—and perhaps to discover how to scale without sacrificing soul.