According to Wikipedia, “A Rube Goldberg machine is a deliberately over-engineered machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction. If you have seen the 1968 classic “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” you may recall the scene in which Caractacus Potts (Dick van Dyke) was cooking breakfast for his children using an overly-complex device while singing the song “You Two.” That was a classic example of a Rube Goldberg machine.   

A friend sent me this link to a TEDxUSC talk given by Adam Sadowsky’s efforts to engineer a viral music video using a Rube Goldberg machine. You’re going to love this!

I wonder if the world we’ve created for ourselves is an enormous and imperfect Rube Goldberg machine. So much of the machinery of the world as we know it is impressive in its intricacy and terribly overdone. One of the challenges I face as a business owner is the impressive and persistent human tendency to over-complicate simple tasks and processes. I can’t help but think of the many governments of the world in this light as well. Oh, how we complicate our lives unnecessarily!

My brother was relating his experience of visiting a baby products store today and he was marvelling at the aisle full of devices designed to swing, rock, bounce and sway babies. He asked, “What happened to knees and arms of parents and grandparents?” No matter where you look there is evidence of a Rube Goldberg machine in use in daily function. The funny thing is that they are often mistakenly seen as being indispensible. “I just couldn’t live without this xyz gizmo!” Really?

In so many ways the new inventions that are designed to simplify life end up being another phase of activity in the giant Rube Goldberg machine called life. This happens in the equestrian world where endless shelves of tack choices await the eager rider – new bits, for instance, that will make a horse more obedient. What happened to the fundamentals? You’ll see this in golf shops as well. The latest and greatest tool is touted as a game-changer, while the basics are overlooked.

Happiness does not come from having designed a Rube Goldberg machine in your life that is bigger and more complex than the next fellow’s. In fact, obsession about the construction of your machine will likely cost you your life, but to what end?

There can be value in simplifying your life on occasion. While I don’t feel that we should all be Luddites and go hide in a cave somewhere, I do feel there are limits to the value making life too complex. Think about your life today, your work and you play, and look to determine ways that you can streamline. There are always more elegant solutions available if you ask the right questions.

Have an excellent day!