Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple, used a particular illustration many times to explain the potential of the personal computer for the betterment of humanity. He would begin by explaining a study that was done with animals to measure the efficiency of their modes of travel over a distance of 1 kilometer. The study placed condors at the top of the list since they need the least energy to travel the given distance. Humans, on the other hand, appeared about a third of the way down. We are not well adapted to efficient transportation.
In an interesting twist, the study added a factor to the...