The Tyranny of Numbers

R3ciprocity.com - Prof David Maslach: Innovation; Research Life; Striving Towards Happiness · Sep 29, 2026 · 11m

I’ve been thinking about the tyranny of numbers.

I know that sounds peculiar.

But over the last 200–250 years, we’ve put a number on almost everything.

Grades.

GPA.

Trade deficits.

Performance.

Even time itself.

⸻

It’s been the job of engineers, accountants, doctors—really all professionalization—

to codify the world into numbers.

And on one hand…

this has been one of the modern miracles.

⸻

We’ve had enormous growth because we can:

• calculate

• quantify

• assign numerical values

⸻

But there’s also a tyranny with it.

⸻

Once you put a number on something…

you can’t escape it.

⸻

It brings out…