Engineers and mathematicians, with a core competence in
building complex structures from elemental and standardized components, have
had a tough time with domains not amenable to prescriptive and deterministic logic.
These include high energy physics, biology, economics and artificial
intelligence. The idea that the behavior of a system cannot be predicted by its
components is foreign to most disciplines and the applications of such hard
sciences, supported by engineering and technology.
In complex organisms such as companies, it has long been
recognized that outcomes cannot be predicted by an analysis of its components,
however standardized they may be. The “rules of engagement,” if not defined in
elegant and closed form mathematics, appear to be less relevant for those
seeking precision. However, there is almost nothing in today’s world that could
be defined so precisely and the recognition of this concept is possibly the
first positive step toward embracing reality.
The interplay between physicists wanting to prove century
old predictions and engineers standing ready to prove anything by heavy and
complex machines, has been costly to society. The interplay between biologists and
chemists wanting to influence systems with precise and targeted therapy and
engineers standing ready to do so, has been costly to society. The interplay
between economists looking to apply statistical precision to the unknown and
engineers ready to build models to whatever is needed, has been costly to
society.
Complex systems cannot be broken down to finite elements for
the behavior of the system does not emanate from its components.
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