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==[[Modernism]] | ==[[Modernism]] vs. [[pragmatism]]== | ||
*Vertex | *Vertex vs. edge | ||
*Text | *Text vs. meaning | ||
*[[Algorithm]] | *[[Algorithm]] vs. [[heuristic]] | ||
*Formal | *Formal vs. informal | ||
*Tool | *Tool vs. application | ||
*Innate | *Innate vs. [[emergent]] | ||
*Obvious | *Obvious vs. subtle | ||
*God | *God vs. Darwin | ||
*[[Simple]] | *[[Simple]] vs. [[complex]] | ||
*Quantitative | *Quantitative vs. qualitative | ||
*Calculated | *[[Calculated]] vs. interpreted | ||
*Static | *Static vs. dynamic | ||
*Stocks | *Stocks vs. flows | ||
*Structure | *Structure vs. interaction | ||
*Nouns | *Nouns vs. verbs | ||
*Trees | *Trees vs. wood | ||
*Permanent | *Permanent vs. ephemeral | ||
{{Quote|“I should explain that in the Soviet scientific community in those days, mechanistic determinism held sway over all other approaches. Researchers believed that the natural world was governed by the iron law of cause and effect. This mentality was a product of the political environment.” | {{Quote|“I should explain that in the Soviet scientific community in those days, mechanistic determinism held sway over all other approaches. Researchers believed that the natural world was governed by the iron law of cause and effect. This mentality was a product of the political environment.” | ||
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A running theme in the [[JC]] is the distinction between top-down and bottom-up of organisation models. | A running theme in the [[JC]] is the distinction between top-down and bottom-up of organisation models. | ||
We are in the swoon of a passionate love affair with [[data]], [[technology]] and the [[algorithm]]. [[Thought leader]]s perceive an inevitable, short, path to a [[singularity]] where everything can be planned, everything calculated, everything provisioned, we will no longer have to rely on irrational, costly, inconstant, error-prone [[meatsacks]]. [[This time is different]]; this time we behold a future of [[technological unemployment]] but unlimited leisure. | |||
Now I am a crusty old refusenik, and while that is largely borne of self-interest — I ''am'' an irrational, costly, inconstant, error-prone [[meatsack]], after all — before mortgaging our futures to the machine, I think it is worth nutting through the digital prophecies to see if they hold water. | |||
Every story needs a [[narrative]] and this one starts with a fundamental, philosophical divide: on on hand, ''[[determinism]]'': the view that the [[Causation|causal]] principle holds, in theory, we can calculate all outcomes from first principles, our main challenge is outright data processing capacity; on the other, ''[[pragmatism]]'': the view that, whether or not the causal principle holds, it’s too hard, too constraining and too inflexible. It’s better to live with uncertainty and figure things out as we go. | |||
[[Determinism]] begets [[modernism]] and aspires to ''centralisation'': we should aggregate and optimise processing power; management’s main function is orderly administration and maintenance of the machine which, by operation of logic, will dispense optimal outcomes by itself. | |||
[[ | [[Pragmatism]] begets [[systems thinking]] and aspires to ''decentralisation'': the world is fundamentally unpredictable; it is best dealt with by experienced experts; management’s main function is to empower and equip experts and optimise their ability to communicate. | ||
[[ | So; centralised [[algorithm]]s versus distributed [[heuristic]]s. | ||
[[Perfection is the enemy of good enough|''Perfection'' versus ''good enough'']]. | [[Perfection is the enemy of good enough|''Perfection'' versus ''good enough'']]. | ||
===[[Modernism]]=== | ===[[Modernism]]=== | ||
{{gigerenzer on basel quote}} | {{gigerenzer on basel quote}} | ||
The top-down models are “[[modernist]]”. They view organisations as [[complicated]] machines. [[Form]]al design is important, and follows (centrally-determined) function; the more efficient your contraption is, the better it will navigate the crises and opportunities presented by its environment — the market. [[Modernism]] regards the market as an extremely [[complicated]] mathematical problem: hard, but— theoretically — calculable. ''Modellable''. Should a model not work, one must refine it. | |||
Shortcomings in current [[technology]] mean we cannot — ''yet'' — fully solve that problem. We still need humans to make sure the machine operates as best it can, but the further humans are from that central executive function, and the better the algorithm gets, the more humans resemble a maintenance crew: their task is simply to ensure the orderly functioning of the plant. As technology advances, human [[agency]] can be progressively decommissioned. | |||
The modernist narrative focusses on [[Legibility|what it can see]], which is necessarily limited to the ''formal'' inputs and outputs of its own model. There are at least two consequences of this. Firstly, the modernist narrative cannot see ''informal'', but often vital, interactions between components of the system that its model does not consider material. These are the random acts of kindness, the jobs the staff do that are not in the service catalogue, that explain the difference between excellent performance and work-to-rule. | The modernist narrative focusses on [[Legibility|what it can see]], which is necessarily limited to the ''formal'' inputs and outputs of its own model. There are at least two consequences of this. Firstly, the modernist narrative cannot see ''informal'', but often vital, interactions between components of the system that its model does not consider material. These are the random acts of kindness, the jobs the staff do that are not in the service catalogue, that explain the difference between excellent performance and work-to-rule. | ||