Press release
Absurdly Optimized researches ordinary things past the point of reason
30 May 2026
Impulse Arc has launched Absurdly Optimized, a site that takes an ordinary object or dish — pancakes, towels, nail clippers — and researches it through the chemistry, the materials science and the physics until the best answer turns up, then publishes the working.
Most review sites consider what manufacturers send them and rank it. Absurdly Optimized starts at the other end: define what actually matters in the category, read the history of the market, learn the science as well as the manufacturers know it, and only then look at the products — which yields a prediction, such as that one cling film should be less durable than another, that real owner reports can then confirm or break. Faked reviews are easy to spot once you understand the science.
Recipes get the same treatment. Target concentrations of acid, salt, fat and umami, the chemical reactions behind the texture, the thermodynamics modelled, and numerical solvers that work backwards from the result you want to the ingredients you weigh out.
Several articles carry an interactive calculator, so a reader can move the targets and get their own version of the answer rather than the author's.
Availability
Absurdly Optimized is free to read at absurdlyoptimized.com, with no account.
About Impulse Arc
Impulse Arc LLC is a California studio building small, carefully made products, each meant to do one thing well. It is run by Ben Kazez, a concert singer who earlier created FlightTrack and founded Mobiata, acquired by Expedia in 2010.