🦄 Why Engineers Need “Alchemy”: Beyond Factual Correctness to Human Magic

After recommending “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, I bring today another book recommendation that should be on the list for all technologists: Rory Sutherland’s “Alchemy”. I especially enjoyed reading it after Kahneman’s book, to add a bit of color to the “cognitive biases” more as to what they are: how we think and make decisions. "

Here’s why these two books are secret weapons for technologists who want to spark passion, and not only “convince with data”:

🔥 The Core Tension: Kahneman’s Systems vs. Sutherland’s “Psycho-Logic”

• Kahneman maps how we decide: System 1 (intuitive, emotional) and System 2 (logical, deliberate). Engineers adore System 2—it feels safe, optimized, “correct.”
• Sutherland rebels: “Logic is a rear-view mirror”. He argues System 1 drives 90% of decisions, yet we design products/processes for System 2. Result? “Factually perfect but emotionally sterile” interactions that disengage users—and teams. 🧑🦯 Engineer’s blind spot: We solve for efficiency, not for the human experience of the solution.

⚗️ 3 “Alchemical” Rules Every Tech Team Should Steal

1. “The Opposite of a Good Idea Can Also Be a Good Idea”

• Example: Red Bull succeeded because it tasted awful + was overpriced—signalling “extreme energy,” not just “beverage.”
• 🐞* For engineers: Sometimes a “flaw” (e.g., slower load time for suspense) creates delight. Not every bug needs fixing.* 2. “Don’t Design for Average”

• Extreme users reveal more than the “rational” middle. Example: The sandwich was invented for a gambler who refused to leave cards for a meal.

• ⇲ For engineers: Personas are dead. Obsess over edge cases—they’re innovation gold, and averages are a deadly boring and mediocre ground to be placed. 3. “A Flower Is Simply a Weed with an Advertising Budget”

• Perception > reality. Example: Stripe toothpaste cleans no better—but stripes signal “advanced science” to our brains.

• 🪄For engineers: Data without storytelling is noise. Wrap logic in magic.

🚫 The Cost of Ignoring “Alchemy” in Tech

• Disengagement: Users tolerate “logical” UX but love “irrational” ones (e.g., Duolingo’s absurd notifications).
• Team friction: Engineers who dismiss “soft” factors create solutions that are precisely wrong vs. vaguely right.
• Innovation stagnation: As Sutherland warns: “Logic kills magic”. Blockbuster died optimizing DVD logistics while Netflix sold nostalgia-in-a-red-envelope ✨.

💥 Become a “Psycho-Logical” Engineer

1. Test the “irrational”: Add whimsy to a feature (e.g., Slack /shrug). Measure and optimize for emotional response, not just KPIs.
2. Reward “alchemy” in code reviews: Celebrate solutions that are human-elegant, not just machine-efficient.
3. Study Kahneman + Sutherland as a duo: One gives you the map; the other hands you a machete to blaze new trails and be more impactful.

“To be brilliant, you have to be irrational.” Rory Sutherland