Email Seems Efficient. Science Has Figured Out Why It Isn’t

As e-mail was taking over the modern office, researchers in the theory ofdistributed systems were also studying the trade-offs between synchrony andasynchrony. As it happens, the conclusion they reached was exactly theopposite of the prevailing consensus. They became convinced thatsynchrony was superior and that spreading communication out over timehindered work rather than enabling it. – The New Yorker