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Overreaching and Measuring

Overclaiming, overselling, and overreaching are everywhere.

Yet departing from what is genuinely possible inevitably brings misfortune when the illusion evaporates.

Measurements can be constructed to support the illusion, but don’t make it real.

Because measuring is not just observation but an act of creation, it seems simple to say, “what you measure is what you get”, yet the act of measuring and observing changes what is measured. What you set out to measure isn’t there anymore in the same way.

What you choose to measure excludes everything outside the boundary the measurement defines. Think of GDP as a measurement of a nation’s success.

When key elements of reality are excluded, the measurements may look great, but they won’t stop the entire system from collapsing…