As the world grows ever more complex and the leverage of various products and services to help us navigate this complexity becomes ever more compelling, the temptation to outsource our thinking becomes enormous… but all it takes to realize the risks of such dependency is to accidentally close Google Maps on your phone when beyond the reach of cell towers. I gather most people have experienced this particular horror at least once yet most of us still likely behave in a way that presumes being saturated in high-bandwidth/low-latency reality with access to our favorite magic most of the time. Occasionally crazy stuff happens when S3, GitHub, CloudFlare, or CrowdStrike takes a dump but then a day later we're all back to worshipping at the alter of efficiency no matter how much tail risk imperils our way of being. Nuclear weapons, anybody?

For a full multi-media version of this episode with interesting links and related content: https://blog.awgibbs.com/2025/12/18/the-perils-of-outsourced-thinking/