Why Inefficiency in Systems Can’t Be Avoided

[mmKay]

Hey, here’s the result of a conversation I had with AI about the nature of systems, something I’ve been observing for a while now. I wanted to share a few of these ideas as food for thought for y’all system thinkers out there.

Sometimes, it’s not right to systematize everything.
Sometimes, an imperfect system that gets the job done is good enough.
Sometimes, you can get a system close to perfect, but don’t be surprised when it still requires maintenance, manual labor, or just doesn’t work under every condition.

Here’s what came out of that conversation. Let me know if you liked it:

[ryoko]

Systems can be inefficient, if not inefficient, there can be hidden trade-offs. It's not magic.
The point of systems is to get the job done and free yourself from it. Systems can turn into your own self built prison.

I've experienced something of this sort when learning to build procedural systems. The more complex a system, the more lifeless the game felt. I value systems when they help create the art. I've changed my approach to building systems since then.

That's just me and my art background. I recognize there's value in systems which are heavily complex, even if it doesn't help you directly. These systems often become foundation of something else. Just telling "perfection in systems is bad" is just half the picture. We need people who care about systems with their life. There's value in both. The question is, what's your intent, with using or building a system, and staying true to that.

[hyruga]

System is needed not just to get the job done. System is also required for checks and balance among other things.

First, you have a record of the job done with system.

Then if the same person ask for the items again, the system reminds you that the person has already received it. This prevents fraud or double transactions etc.

While there is no perfect system, having a system is usually better than no systems at all.

Edited Sunday at 12:25 AM by hyruga

[LambdaDelta]

This is great. Maybe post a text version.

Luhmann has some interesting things about systems. In short, every system is a self-referential and autopoietic mechanism of simplifying its environment, but as it gets more complex, a need arises for an internal system that coordinates and manages all the other subsystems. A complex system also makes its environment more complex, so the process of simplification is now more involved. The controller system and other subsystems also start treating each other as the environment, which quickly creates a massive mess. No wonder effective systems management is so hard. 
https://medium.com/deterritorialization/social-systems-and-autopoiesis-a34f52fe9da1

Complimentary to big-picture thinking I also like to contemplate micro aspects of system dynamics.
For example, some time ago I made an observation:

Quote

I'm on a bus now, and driving through the city we have to make lots of sudden stops at pedestrian crossings. It is inefficient and rough to maneuver such a large vehicle like that, but of course the pedestrians don't even consider that because they're selfish. If you're a bit more selfless you might consider stopping to let the bus through, however that can actually lead to more inefficiency, since it might confuse the driver, as the standard is selfishness, so that is what he expects. Letting it through could lead to this awkward pause where no one is moving, then both move at the same time, and so on. More time is wasted than if you just crossed like everybody else. As such, even selfless actions have to be considered carefully, it's not a given that they'll provide benefit.

Initially it's very cognitively taxing to ponder every little thing, but gets easier with time as it's fully internalized and automated, bringing enormous payoffs.

[mmKay]

I challenge you to notice and point out the imperfections in all the systems you see for a few days.

For example , language is a system that's good enough to get the job done for collective survival of the species, but just look how much room for misinterpretation there is.

Edited Saturday at 06:38 PM by mmKay