The 70% Solution
The 'waste' in imperfect systems often creates more value than the cost of achieving perfection.
The squirrel plants forests with its imperfection. What are you planting with yours?
Evolution optimized for 70-80% efficiency, not 100%. Squirrels retrieve 70-80% of cached acorns - the missing 20-30% becomes forest regeneration. Clark's nutcrackers achieve 90-95% retrieval but pay with brains 2-3× larger, consuming 25% more energy at rest. Perfect storage (100% retrieval) would require infinite brain capacity and impossible defense of all caches.
Business Application of The 70% Solution
The 'waste' in imperfect systems often creates more value than the cost of achieving perfection. Amazon tolerates 10-20% inventory loss ($40-80B annually) because eliminating it would cost $100-150B+ in customer experience, availability, and competitive position. Optimal ≠ Perfect. Optimal = Calibrated.