(Laura’s note: A version of this essay originally ran at Vanderhacks, my Substack newsletter. To get a free or paid subscription, please go here.)

We all have little annoying things in our lives. For instance, a non-urgent warning light just came on in my car. Also, every time I pull out of the driveway, I look up and notice that I haven’t changed the time on the dashboard yet (I have an old car; this has to be done manually) but I’m, you know, driving, so I can’t do it right then. This morning ...