#ThinkingInDesign

[jacekwojnarowski]

Dependency and the Flick of a Switch

We think we’re advanced. Smart meters. AI assistants. Satnavs instead of street signs. But take away electricity for a day, and most people would stand frozen, lost—like someone cut the strings holding up the world.

That’s the danger of dependency.

When everything runs through a single system, one switch controls it all. One power outage, one flicked circuit, one bad policy—and the lights go out. Not just in our homes, but in our heads.

Remember training for digital systems? Someone always asks, “What if the power goes?” The answer? “That doesn’t happen.” But it does. It did.

And it’s not just tech. It’s emotional too. When we lean too hard on one person, one job, one idea—we create the same risk. If it walks out the door, we’re left in the dark.

Modern life calls this progress. But really, it’s a silent surrender. We’ve built comfort on quicksand.

So ask yourself: If the lights went out—would you still know where you’re going?