In 1988, Joseph Tainter published “The Collapse of Complex Societies,” in which he published a prescient and simple argument with far-reaching implications:
1) Social complexity is a problem-solving mechanism.
2) Complexity has costs in terms of energy.
3) Societies tend to add rather than subtract complexity when facing new problems.
4) Complexity often reaches a point of diminishing marginal returns in relation to its energy costs.
5) When societies reach this point of diminishing returns, they are vulnerable to collapse to a simpler level of social organization, which is an economizing reaction to problems that can no longer be solved by adding more complexity.
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Yes, indeed there is always going to be a balance point, with most tasks in life. Thinking is hard, more effort devoted to one topic is less for another. But we can also get into a bigger mess by trying to tell people simple answers to complex problems.
Actually to be more specific I’m a climate-system model developer, it’s intrinsically a very complex problem, so I try to develop software to help people learn by experiment, and balance choices. You can see my current efforts here. Maybe it’s already too complex for some, too simple for others, I’m still trying to fill the gaps.
Yes, indeed there is always going to be a balance point, with most tasks in life. Thinking is hard, more effort devoted to one topic is less for another. But we can also get into a bigger mess by trying to tell people simple answers to complex problems.
Actually to be more specific I’m a climate-system model developer, it’s intrinsically a very complex problem, so I try to develop software to help people learn by experiment, and balance choices. You can see my current efforts here. Maybe it’s already too complex for some, too simple for others, I’m still trying to fill the gaps.