tl;dr

If we can't build something that truly solves a problem, maybe building something that makes the pain of the problem go away isn't so bad. In medicine, we treat symptoms all the time. Should software be any different?

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Was thinking about a feature we are building in Hostbento and ended up with some conflicting thoughts. It started with a train ride. Phone away. Felt long. Same train back, scrolling. Felt like half the time.

That got me thinking: We spend billions making transportation faster — bullet trains, supersonic jets, hyperloops. But what if the real innovation isn't faster travel... it's making slow travel feel fast?

A wealthy person takes a 1-hour flight. A less wealthy person takes a 6-hour bus. But if that bus rider is absorbed in TikTok or Instagram — have we narrowed the experiential gap?

In medicine, we treat symptoms all the time. Should building software be any different? If the goal is maximum impact — is building painkillers more important than cures? Should software that makes you lose the sense of time be so frowned upon?

I don't have the answer. Do you?