It might be instructive to consider some specific examples. An internal combustion engine is particularly easy to analyze, for instance. The efficiency with which fuel is turned to kinetic energy is almost entirely determined by temperature gradient between the engine and its surroundings. This means that, apart from better cooling technologies, the only way to make an engine more efficient is to make it less powerful. In practice, we also make entire vehicles more fuel efficient by making them lighter and more aerodynamic.
But the “goal” of an engine in many cases is just to produce the most power. If you’re trying to win a race, get into orbit, you’re limited by how much thrust or torque you can generate per unit of mass and time. This goal is directly antithetical to efficiency.
While I don’t think this generalizes to the extent that efficiency as a goal is always antithetical to whatever you’re really trying to optimize, it is at least in most cases orthogonal to whatever you’re actually trying to optimize.
It might be instructive to consider some specific examples. An internal combustion engine is particularly easy to analyze, for instance. The efficiency with which fuel is turned to kinetic energy is almost entirely determined by temperature gradient between the engine and its surroundings. This means that, apart from better cooling technologies, the only way to make an engine more efficient is to make it less powerful. In practice, we also make entire vehicles more fuel efficient by making them lighter and more aerodynamic.
But the “goal” of an engine in many cases is just to produce the most power. If you’re trying to win a race, get into orbit, you’re limited by how much thrust or torque you can generate per unit of mass and time. This goal is directly antithetical to efficiency.
While I don’t think this generalizes to the extent that efficiency as a goal is always antithetical to whatever you’re really trying to optimize, it is at least in most cases orthogonal to whatever you’re actually trying to optimize.