re:economic irreducible complexity

Bill Hamilton (hamilton@predator.cs.gmr.com)
Wed, 27 Nov 1996 13:04:44 -0500

Brian writes
>
>There is an interesting twist on the usual state of affairs in the above.
>Normally we want to argue that complex things are designed. The more
>complex, the more likely design. Yet the last two conclusions above are
>arrived at from the observation that the economy is *too* complex to have
>been designed. The long term consequences of individual actions are
>unpredictable.

Human designers strive to simplify things. The initial design of a product
may be quite complex because the original designer didn't have the benefit
of insights gained by later experience making and using the product. Of
course the systems themselves frequently get more complex with time,
because new functionality keeps getting added. But take any component that
doesn't change much, or a fairly mature design, and you are more likjely to
see it get simpler with time than more complex.

Bill Hamilton
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William E. Hamilton, Jr, Ph.D. | Staff Research Engineer
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