I'm a bit confused by this article. On the one hand, it seems to advocate for thinking beyond "instrumentality" and being solely "oriented around the practical principles of utility, effectiveness and impact". On the other hand the two examples highlighted are "some of the greatest nature writing ever set to paper" and "the greatest punk rock bands in history", which seems pretty squarely oriented around utility, effectiveness and impact...

If the point is that doing "useless things" can also lead to greatness, I would say it's also possible to complete a marathon by walking on your hands, but it sure as shit easier to just run. If the point is that "impact" is not the be all/end all, I would whole heartedly agree but argue that the first step is to reorient ourselves away from celebrating just the extra ordinary outcomes.