Overcomplicated: Technology at the Limits of Comprehension
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.53 (588 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0143131303 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 256 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-09-08 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
It's exactly what we all need."—CARL ZIMMER, author of Evolution“Fascinating, alarming, insightful, full of examples and funny.” —QI. By identifying how tangled our world has gotten, we can figure out the best ways to undo the knots.” —Vox"How do we navigate a digital world too complex for any individual to understand? With a sense of wonder and the spirit of a scientist, as Samuel Arbesman argues in this terrific and thoughtful book."—CLIVE THOMPSON, author of Smarter Than You Think"With humor, insight, and wid
He lives in Kansas City with his wife and children.. Samuel Arbesman is Scientist in Residence at Lux Capital, a science and technology venture capital firm. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Silicon Flatirons Center of Law, Technology, and Entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado and a Research Fellow at the Long Now Foundation. Arbesman's fir
Malcolm Mcgrath said Even more complicated. This is a well written book on an important topic. Arbesman swims against the tide of tech pundits who point to a glorious future of seamless technology which solves all our problems. He shows in detail how as technologies get more complicated they create complexity which is more and more beyond our ability to understand. We are headed to a future where bugs and glitches and crashes are inevitable and unpredictable. He says we need to look at technology like a biologist might look at an new animal species, the inner workings of which we cannot fully understand, but we need to learn. "One of the most through provoking books I've read in years" according to Chip Hauss. I've read a lot of books on the relationship between technology and the complex nature of life in the first decades of the 21st century. None affected me more than Overcomplicated for two main reasons.First, while other authors get at technology per se at least as well as Arbesman does, he nails the problems growing out of it on the head from the beginning of the book on. See, for example, this statement on p. One of the most through provoking books I've read in years I've read a lot of books on the relationship between technology and the complex nature of life in the first decades of the 21st century. None affected me more than Overcomplicated for two main reasons.First, while other authors get at technology per se at least as well as Arbesman does, he nails the problems growing out of it on the head from the beginning of the book on. See, for example, this statement on p. 3: "Each of our actions has more unexpected ramifications than ever before, rippling not just to every corner of our infrastructure, but to every corner of the planet, and so. : "Each of our actions has more unexpected ramifications than ever before, rippling not just to every corner of our infrastructure, but to every corner of the planet, and so. "Errors, edge-cases, and evolution" according to CogSciGuy. In Chapter 1 Arbesman introduces us to the complex systems that rule the world today (and describes how complex differs from the colloquial term complicated). In Chapters 2-Errors, edge-cases, and evolution CogSciGuy In Chapter 1 Arbesman introduces us to the complex systems that rule the world today (and describes how complex differs from the colloquial term complicated). In Chapters 2-4 we are shown how kluges, quick fixes to a problem, add up over time to make a system almost impossible for a single person to understand. In the final two chapters the author urges us to think differently and more broadly—like a T-shaped individual—to understand the technological systems that have become as complicated and kluge-y as ecological systems found in nature. We should stop fearing and wo. we are shown how kluges, quick fixes to a problem, add up over time to make a system almost impossible for a single person to understand. In the final two chapters the author urges us to think differently and more broadly—like a T-shaped individual—to understand the technological systems that have become as complicated and kluge-y as ecological systems found in nature. We should stop fearing and wo
. But here’s a secret: neither do the geniuses at Apple or the Ph.D.’s at Toyota—not perfectly, anyway. No one, not lawyers, doctors, accountants, or policy makers, fully grasps the rules governing your tax return, your retirement account, or your hospital’s medical machinery. If we are to survive and thrive in this new age, we must abandon our need for governing principles and rules and accept the chaos. Why did the New York Stock Exchange suspend trading without warning on July 8, 2015? Why did certain Toyota vehicles accelerate uncontrollably against the will of their drivers? Why does the programming inside our airplanes occasionally surprise its creators? After a thorough analysis by the top experts, the answers still elude us. &n