"...things should be possibly be made more complex or more complicated for people to make them smarter and to make them happier... it's flying in the face of quite a lot of the wisdom that we've been building up for the last 15-20 years in usability."
I think one of the author's points is that he appreciates that Josephine actually satisfies a higher level of Maslow's hierarchy than Sprig not in spite of its lower level of convenience, but because of it.
1) Uber For Food: Immediate satisfaction of fatty, salty food.
2) Sprig: Higher-level satisfaction of food better for long-term health.
3) Josephine: Slower, more conscious choice; face-to-face connection with your neighbors.
"...things should be possibly be made more complex or more complicated for people to make them smarter and to make them happier... it's flying in the face of quite a lot of the wisdom that we've been building up for the last 15-20 years in usability."
I think one of the author's points is that he appreciates that Josephine actually satisfies a higher level of Maslow's hierarchy than Sprig not in spite of its lower level of convenience, but because of it.
1) Uber For Food: Immediate satisfaction of fatty, salty food.
2) Sprig: Higher-level satisfaction of food better for long-term health.
3) Josephine: Slower, more conscious choice; face-to-face connection with your neighbors.