Comment by rgrieselhuber
4 years ago
I think it’s less a matter of complexity and more a matter of dependencies. In the case of our society, we have enormous dependency on centralized systems for energy, heat, water, medical, and more. That is where the real risks exist.
I think you nailed the problem. I once had a car that had a single chip control various subsystems. You couldn’t easily get to the chip because it was buried behind the dash, and you had to remove the entire dash to replace it. Once the chip went bad, the collision detection system stopped working, which is kind of important to the modern driver, since you want to know if you are too close to objects or if something is too close to you. Then, the radio stopped working, which is kind of important if you like to listen to news or get weather updates. Then, the various stereo components stopped working, which is kind of important if you like to listen to music, the CD player, podcasts, or use the phone hands free to talk with people as you are driving. Etc. All because of one bad chip buried in the vehicle dash that nobody could get to in order to replace it.
I agree with you, the other problem is to rely on only one system. Our global economy is fragile in this sense.