I, Pencil
by: Leonard E. Read
Central Theme:
It takes so much to create one item. No one mastermind can create any one object, but rather it is through collaboration and the uninhibited free flow of creative energy that miraculous achievements can come to fruition.
Recommendation:
“I, Pencil” by Leonard E. Read details the innumerable antecedents that underly the creation of a simple wooden pencil. Nobody can make a pencil on their own, but there is a miracle of creative human synergy working toward a common goal.
Summary:
Just as it is difficult to fully trace a family tree, it is impossible to explain all of a project’s antecedents. Think of all the people and numberless skills that are required for human cooperation and the miraculous creation of any practical product. A pencil is the complex combination of miracles between: a tree, zinc, copper, graphite and countless other resources. Millions of creative human energies configurating naturally and spontaneously in response to human necessity and demand. Spontaneous order exists to send efficient signals and patterns to benefit everyone in an unpredictable manner.
