Sloth Laziness Argument

Sloth, or laziness, is one of the more prominent of the seven deadly sins. It is shown in most of modern society, and it will continue to be very prevalent for as long as the human race exists. Many make the argument that sloth, laziness, in itself, is in fact human nature. This argument is posed by an article written by a man named Jason Hreha. “For most of human history, it’s been recognized that we tend to follow the path of least resistance. We go to comical lengths to avoid work of even the most trivial sort.” (Jason Hreha, BigThink.com) This argument is one that is very supported, and of course, I agree. The vast majority of sloth that is shown in society are smaller instances that are things we would overlook every day. A few examples

Bill Gates himself once said he would rather hire a lazy man than a hard worker, because the lazy man would find the easiest way to do something. “"Laziness promotes invention," the Los Angeles Times reported in 1910. The article related the story of a kid who was assigned to monitor a water pump powered by a steam engine. His job was to watch a piston rod rise, and when it reached a certain point, he was to open a valve, release the steam and allow the process to start all over again. "Now this boy was essentially lazy," the story explained. "He found this occupation monotonous in the extreme. And so it happened one day that his master came and found no boy, although to his astonishment the pump was working perfectly. The lazy boy had procured some pieces of iron, and with these he had made the engine work the valves automatically, thus giving him his freedom. And this was the first invention of an automatic steam engine."” (Linton Weeks, NPR.org) The argument can also be made that laziness, sloth, is at times, good for you. (look out, this one is long) “Lazy is often seen as a bad thing, but I disagree. Lazy is an amazing