Steven Melia Steve.Melia@uwe.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Transport Planning
Abstract
How many times have system failures – technical, human or both – caused you loss, frustration or wasted time? Have you ever dealt with customer services or technical support who seemed powerless to fix the problem? Could these growing frustrations of everyday life be linked to deeper forces?
Peak complexity is the idea that human civilisations address problems by adding complexity. That process works well at first but gradually becomes less effective, creating more problems than it solves. That process imposes a growing burden on complex societies, weakening their resilience and contributing to the collapse of some ancient civilisations.
This article draws on research into complexity, linking those ancient civilisations to system breakdowns, large and small, in the present day. Whether serving customers or fighting climate change, are we overlooking opportunities to simplify?
Working Paper Type
Working Paper
Deposit Date
Aug 1, 2024
Publicly Available Date
Aug 1, 2024
Pages
1-8
Keywords
complexity, customer service, decarbonisation, transport planning
This article has been written as an interdisciplinary attempt to apply a little-known concept to a wider problem, and also to propose a specific definition for peak complexity for the first time.
