Optimal Illusions

Praise for Optimal Illusions: “Provocative, brisk and refreshingly nontechnical” —Wall Street Journal“A fascinating book, both deeply researched and deeply felt, Optimal Illusions is an elegy to all we’ve sacrificed to the religion of efficiency and economies of scale. But it is also a quietly hopeful guide to the more human, interdependent, imperfect yet uplifting world that might come next.” —Oliver Burkeman, New York Times bestselling author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals “Combining her training as a mathematician with a keen critical eye, Coco Krumme provides a deep and arresting look into the outsized role of optimization in our everyday lives. An incredibly timely book!” —Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of Digital Minimalism and A World Without Email “Are you tired of excess rationalism and optimization? Do you suspect there is something more to life? If so, Optimal Illusions is your preferred guide to some fascinating and more robust new perspectives.” —Tyler Cowen, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Stagnation

Coco Krumme is an applied mathematician and writer. After completing her doctorate at MIT and working in technology, she founded a scientific consultancy and moved into a cabin on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest, where she now resides.