21st Century Engineering by Anirudh Dhebar
August 2026
How constraints can concentrate the mind
When it comes to “constraints,” I find people fall into
one of five groups (apologies for the oversimplification):
Those seemingly oblivious of constraints (until smacked
in the face by one); those who acknowledge constraints
but ignore them, only to be rudely awakened when one
proves unbudging; those who recognize constraints but
believe they can be moved through willpower and/or
canniness (until reminded of the Serenity Prayer, “Give me
the courage to change what can be changed, the serenity
to accept what cannot be changed and the wisdom to
know the difference”); those who resign themselves to
constraints (for them, the glass is always half empty);
and those who see constraints as mind-concentrating
opportunities.
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