Living With Complexity

This year, first-year Georgia Tech students were assigned Donald A. Norman's Living With Complexity to read before classes start in the fall. My first impression upon finishing this book was, "Wow, Georgia Tech your rank as #1 school for industrial and systems engineering is showing." Which should also be further comfort to me as an incoming ISyE student. I have this sentiment because a large portion of the book describes the inefficiencies we face when people, organizations, or machines fail to deal with the complexity properly. Norman discusses the complexities of our world, namely caused by technologies. But he doesn't limit the discussion to the fancy high-tech gadgets an gizmos we surround ourselves with, like the phone app I'm using to type up this post. He includes the simple technologies from salt and pepper shakers to lines/queues to services as products and products as services. 

A lot of what I read seemed either redundant, unnecessary, or common sense. As an adolescent in the 21st century whose father works for a cellphone company and is constantly bringing home new gadgets, I don't often find myself complaining that a piece of technology is too complex or that I wish it had fewer buttons. If anything, I am mesmerized by the complexity (especially as someone who could probably never grasp the theories and workings involved in programming and developing). 

In this book, Norman focuses on dealing with the complexity. He also provides solutions for both designers and users. His goal, or as it seems to me, is to have readers finish his book with an understanding that:

1. Complexity is necessary in our lives. It isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, the word complicated would be the negative aspect and things can be complex without being complicated. 

2. Designers and users sometimes new to make concessions to reach the best solution.

3. There are many institutions that use inherently inefficient mechanisms that can be easily solved if they put in the effort. 

4. Both designers and users need to put in effort for everyone to be happy. 

Now this is all fine and dandy. This information can be extremely beneficial to a huge audience. But to me, that audience seems to be: a. Designers (from product designers to contractors to theme-park planners), and b. People who find the complexity overwhelming. I, and I'm assuming many of my Georgia Tech classmates, fall into neither of those categories. I am part of a third category that can still enjoy the knowledge in this book though I have little practical application for it now (I am not often in a situation where I need to design the best and fair line for people to wait in): People who are curious about and awed by the complexities of technology and our society and also enjoy gaining knowledge about that. 

When Norman described a music device evolving into a device that stores music, videos, takes pictures, and more, I didn't think "Wow, that's a lot of features-it must be difficult to use." I thought "Wow, it's amazing that a tiny rectangle that fits in my pocket can do all that." I am amazed and intellectually stimulated by the magic our technological devices seem to carry. I want to know how all those intricate pieces fit together to accomplish a task in the blink of an eye. I want to know about everything I can't see. Rather than be told this object or scenario is complex, I want to be told about the complexity. Why is it complex? What kind of complexity is it? And how does that complexity get the job done and make other jobs simpler?

Does the fact that I'm not asking how to channel the complexity into a more efficient manner mean I'll be a bad industrial engineer? I should hope not. I think to really be able to solve a problem, to find an efficient solution, you need to understand every aspect of that problem first. After all, how can a doctor diagnose you correctly without knowing all your symptoms?

Overall, Living With Complexity was an intriguing read. Not as impressive or captivating as Charles Wheelan's Naked Economics, but I did read the whole book so there must be something to it. 

Happy reading fellow Yellow Jackets! I'll see you in August.