81,788
edits
Complexity: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
no edit summary
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Amwelladmin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{a|devil|If you are interested in [[complexity]] you’ll definitely want to read {{author|Charles Perrow}}’s magnificent {{br|Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies}}}}[[All other things being equal]], a bummer. A violation of [[Occam’s razor]]; a source of confusion, a time-sink, a material contributor to catastrophic [[normal accident]]s; a ''[[waste]]'' — yet in a [[distributed network]] of autonomous bodies, a total inevitability. The more sophisticated the group of individuals, the greater the rate of complexification. | {{a|devil|If you are interested in [[complexity]] you’ll definitely want to read {{author|Charles Perrow}}’s magnificent {{br|Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies}}}}[[All other things being equal]], a bummer. A violation of [[Occam’s razor]]; a source of confusion, a time-sink, a material contributor to catastrophic [[normal accident]]s; a ''[[waste]]'' — yet in a [[distributed network]] of autonomous bodies, a total inevitability. The more sophisticated the group of individuals, the greater the rate of complexification. | ||
=== | ===[[Complicated]] versus [[complex]]=== | ||
Things can be merely [[complicated]] without being [[complex]]. ''Complicated'' problems are naturally difficult, but you can solve them with rules and [[algorithm]]s. The systems and processes, by which The Man commands and controls employees can manage this kind of ''complicatedness''. | Things can be merely [[complicated]] without being [[complex]]. ''Complicated'' problems are naturally difficult, but you can solve them with rules and [[algorithm]]s. The systems and processes, by which The Man commands and controls employees can manage this kind of ''complicatedness''. | ||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
====Identify your systems==== | ====Identify your systems==== | ||
Is your system simple, complicated or complex? | Is your system simple, complicated or complex? | ||
* | *{{simple capsule}} | ||
*'''[[Complicated]]''': complicated systems need skilled management, but the right hands can usually manage them successfully. You know you have a complicated system when there is a comprehensive and robust set of axioms and rules, and thus it is a matter of making sure that the proper models are being used for the situation at hand. [[Chess]] and [[Alpha Go]] are complicated, but not complex, [[systems]]. They’re ''not'' [[wicked environment]]s. Do you hear that, {{author|Daniel Susskind}}? | *{{complicated capsule}}'''[[Complicated]]''': complicated systems need skilled management, but the right hands can usually manage them successfully. You know you have a complicated system when there is a comprehensive and robust set of axioms and rules, and thus it is a matter of making sure that the proper models are being used for the situation at hand. [[Chess]] and [[Alpha Go]] are complicated, but not complex, [[systems]]. They’re ''not'' [[wicked environment]]s. Do you hear that, {{author|Daniel Susskind}}? | ||
*'''[[Complex]]''': Complex systems are dynamic, constantly changing, and interact with themselves and the environment in unexpected ways. They may comprise multiple other simple, complicated and indeed complex systems interacting with each other. So step one is to manage the simple and complicated sub-systems as effectively as possible — deploy checklists, simplify, homogenise — but even after that you are ''still'' left with a system which is innately unpredictable. It will do unexpected things. Like blowing up. So have your plans for dealing with those [[normal accident]]s. | *{{complex capsule}}'''[[Complex]]''': Complex systems are dynamic, constantly changing, and interact with themselves and the environment in unexpected ways. They may comprise multiple other simple, complicated and indeed complex systems interacting with each other. So step one is to manage the simple and complicated sub-systems as effectively as possible — deploy checklists, simplify, homogenise — but even after that you are ''still'' left with a system which is innately unpredictable. It will do unexpected things. Like blowing up. So have your plans for dealing with those [[normal accident]]s. | ||
{{sa}} | {{sa}} | ||
*[[Barnacle]]s | *[[Barnacle]]s | ||
*{{br|Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies}} by the magnificent {{author|Charles Perrow}}. | *{{br|Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies}} by the magnificent {{author|Charles Perrow}}. | ||