Whether it’s the perfect body, the perfect steak or the perfect outfit, people want what they want without putting in much work. Learning a new skill, interacting with others, or just trying doesn’t seem to be necessary anymore.

Imagine not having to pay attention in the kitchen, of all places. Well, a new kitchen gadget will do it for you. The first self-contained sous-vide machine for home cooks, which combines gentle, steady heat with an airtight seal, recently went on sale, the Times reported. Perfectly softboiled eggs, poached salmon and juicy steak now all require no attention when placed in sealed bags and dropped in the machine’s controlled hot-water bath.

No more cutting into meat or inspecting juices to test for doneness, or timing the eggs. “Working by smell, sound, taste and touch … are reduced or eliminated in sous vide,” said The Times.

But, as with many conveniences, there is a downside.

“There’s some danger in cooking techniques that don’t require much attention,” wrote the chef Thomas Keller in “Under Pressure.” “Eliminate the need to pay attention and you eliminate the craft.”

Basic handy skills, which are useful for assembling a child’s toy, are also on the wane. As toys come in more compressed packaging - to reduce the costs of shipping and labor and because of the amount of shelf space at retail stores - more assembly is required, said The Times.

This can lead to frustration. As one commenter on Amazon.com said about the Marble Mania Extreme construction set: “OH MY GOD! YOU BETTER BE AN ENGINEER TO PUT THIS TOGETHER!”

Simmie Kerman, a co-owner of four toy stores in the Washington- Baltimore area, recognized her customers’ frustrations and has her staff build some toys in advance, or charges a modest fee to assemble others. “Their handy skills have become less specialized,” she told The Times about her customers.

Many toy companies have increased their customer service hotlines in the last three years, Reyne Rice, a trends specialist at the Toy Industry Association told The Times.

But no need to interact with humans for help. Just download it, as Taylor Disher, 22, did, when looking for new makeup. Instead of spending hours trying on lip gloss with a salesperson at a beauty counter, she did it through an iPhone application called MakeUp.

Using the application’s facial recognition technology, Ms. Disher applied pixilated lip gloss onto an uploaded photo of herself until she found her perfect shade of pink, wrote The Times.

Is it possible that the cosmetics themselves might become irrelevant? Forget time-consuming beauty rituals or visits to a dermatologist. Eating and drinking your way to beauty is now possible.

Nescafe has found an avid market in Asia for coffee with collagen, a protein found in connective tissues that can improve the skin. And in Japan, collagen is added to yogurt drinks and dried fruits, wrote The Times.

So sit back and let the work be done for you, because hunting and gathering has certainly changed. As Ms. Kerman said, “Maybe we’ve all lost that skill” of building things by hand. Or just making an effort.


ANITA PATIL