It is said that human beings are wise enough to save the earth. The fact is that we are doing not more than destroying it. Our complexity can save the world, but first of all our complexity devastates our environment. Wouldn't it be easier if we were just a bit simpler?
Is the human being a 'system' which became too complex?
In my few years as engineer I have already witnessed the dead of systems because of their own complexity. Normally systems begin simple and small, they can be fully tested and easily monitored; they don't hurt anyone. But the process of incrementally adding components - and thus complexity - to the system is a very delicate one. When this is not done carefully, the system begins to be unstable, hard to mantain, impossible to modify and very difficult to debug.
When an engineer confronts a system which has became too complex, the smart solution is destroying it and replacing it by a simpler one. In other words, complexity is most of the times a disadvantage, not an advantage.
Sometimes I think about how many complex things we have developed and how much complexity we go through in our daily routine and wonder if it wouldn't be better to be a simpler specie.
What is my cat thinking when he stares at me while I am thinking about this all? Nothing. That's the power of simplicity.
Ending quote from Matrix:
"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure."
P.D. - Funny how human complexity can bypass natural selection according to this article. Not even the wisdom of our environment can destroy us.
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Another great mix between real life and computer science. Enjoyable.
ResponderSuprimirLife goes against entropy by creating order out of chaos. The more complex a living system is and the more it is remote from chaos.
ResponderSuprimirThe appearance of consciousness is linked to the complexity of the brain. Who knows if one day, the complexity of a human created system won't spawn some form of consciousness.