Our brains cannot reason with matters that are too complex.
That is why we still generalize all the time,
although we know generalization is dangerous.
Unfortunately, the human society is getting more and more complex: in computer systems and in management.
Complexity is a threat to the stability of human society!
Our brains cannot reason with matters that are too complex. We can only handle simple relationships. We can only handle simple concepts.
We tend to generalize: "All rich people are unscrupulous", "All birds fly, with some exceptions". We know all generalization are wrong (including this statement), but we still generalize. That is a need. Without generalization, we do not know how to reason.
We use simple rules to explain things. That is why we like mathematics and Newton's physics. We make simplifying assumptions in our reasoning.
The simpler the rules, the more we prefer them. Note that this is the reason why we overlooked chaos theory until Mandelbrot.
Reducing complexity is a basic need, yet we see a trend to increase complexity in the society.
Computer systems are getting more and more complex. When they break down, human societies will be in serious trouble. Even when they do not break down, there will be problem: each sub-system may be in good order, but the interaction of them could be complex. Behaviour in complex systems is sometimes very hard to predict!
Modern management is complex. But that is either due to foolishness, or due to deliberate efforts to fool.
Whether it is out of necessity or it is created with ill-motivation, complexity is a threat to human society. We cannot understand the properties of a complex system. Predicting how it might evolve is out of the question. The systems that we build could evolve undersiable behaviour. When that happens, we will never be able to figure out how to fix them. The system that we create could eventually end our civilization.
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