Subtle Thinking
3 stars
A sharp, short essay told from the perspective of a pencil that grasps the complexity of this apparently simple object. Millions of humans were involved in this pencil's construction. And this is its story.
Leonard E Read dissects complex manufacturing and economics, and the value of labour, in a short book that focuses on one small object. The tone is playful but polemic, and the 1960s essay has real resonance in our contemporary world where we all carry incredibly complex items with us all the time.
