3 ms·

‘Optimal Illusions’ Review: Efficient to a Fault

15 points by lxm 3y ago

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
groby_b 3y ago
https://archive.ph/f9EMF https://archive.ph/f9EMF It doesn't sound like a particular insightful book - yes, models do not always match reality, and slack/friction are valuable properties we lose at our own risk. But at least based on the WSJ review, I'd assume these are the essence of the book. Any HN readers who actually read the book and can shed more light than the meagre article?
cs702 3y ago
Relevant here is the classic treatise, "How Complex Systems Fail," by Richard I. Cook: https://stuff.mit.edu/afs/athena/course/2/2.75/resources/random/How%20Complex%20Systems%20Fail.pdf https://stuff.mit.edu/afs/athena/course/2/2.75/resources/ran...
- dang 3y ago
  Discussed in past threads: How Complex Systems Fail (1998) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32895812 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32895812 - Sept 2022 (33 comments) How Complex Systems Fail (1998) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25550685 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25550685 - Dec 2020 (83 comments) How Complex Systems Fail (1998) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20380055 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20380055 - July 2019 (33 comments) How complex systems fail (2002) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15002683 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15002683 - Aug 2017 (19 comments) How Complex Systems Fail (1998) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14127543 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14127543 - April 2017 (7 comments) How Complex Systems Fail (1998) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8282923 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8282923 - Sept 2014 (16 comments) How Complex Systems Fail [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=926735 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=926735 - Nov 2009 (1 comment)
  - cs702 3y ago
    Thank you. Yes, it's a classic, especially on HN!
dekhn 3y ago
I'm trouble by the example the review gives (about Norman Borlaug's green revolution having unanticipated side effects). I think they're tryting to make the point that in optimizing yield, Borlaug caused a whole bunch of secondary side effects (family farms going away, massive monoculture and pesticide). And the conclusion they want you to reach is that by optimizing yield, they left out variables like "social and other effects on the commons". It wasn't Borlaug's job as an optimizer to consider those downstream effects. If he had, and hadn't done his research, billions of people would not be alive today (having starved to death or not being born in the first place). Good luck working out the utility function around that! I'm sure there are better examples. Maybe antibiotics, whose discovery saved millions of lives, but also helped bacteria evolve defenses, thus making some antibiotics useless due to overprescription?

15 points by lxm 3y ago

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

https://archive.ph/f9EMF https://archive.ph/f9EMF It doesn't sound like a particular insightful book - yes, models do not always match reality, and slack/friction are valuable properties we lose at our own risk. But at least based on the WSJ review, I'd assume these are the essence of the book. Any HN readers who actually read the book and can shed more light than the meagre article?

cs702 3y ago

Relevant here is the classic treatise, "How Complex Systems Fail," by Richard I. Cook: https://stuff.mit.edu/afs/athena/course/2/2.75/resources/random/How%20Complex%20Systems%20Fail.pdf https://stuff.mit.edu/afs/athena/course/2/2.75/resources/ran...

dang 3y ago
Discussed in past threads: How Complex Systems Fail (1998) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32895812 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32895812 - Sept 2022 (33 comments) How Complex Systems Fail (1998) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25550685 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25550685 - Dec 2020 (83 comments) How Complex Systems Fail (1998) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20380055 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20380055 - July 2019 (33 comments) How complex systems fail (2002) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15002683 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15002683 - Aug 2017 (19 comments) How Complex Systems Fail (1998) [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14127543 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14127543 - April 2017 (7 comments) How Complex Systems Fail (1998) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8282923 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8282923 - Sept 2014 (16 comments) How Complex Systems Fail [pdf] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=926735 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=926735 - Nov 2009 (1 comment)
- cs702 3y ago
  Thank you. Yes, it's a classic, especially on HN!

dekhn 3y ago

I'm trouble by the example the review gives (about Norman Borlaug's green revolution having unanticipated side effects). I think they're tryting to make the point that in optimizing yield, Borlaug caused a whole bunch of secondary side effects (family farms going away, massive monoculture and pesticide). And the conclusion they want you to reach is that by optimizing yield, they left out variables like "social and other effects on the commons". It wasn't Borlaug's job as an optimizer to consider those downstream effects. If he had, and hadn't done his research, billions of people would not be alive today (having starved to death or not being born in the first place). Good luck working out the utility function around that! I'm sure there are better examples. Maybe antibiotics, whose discovery saved millions of lives, but also helped bacteria evolve defenses, thus making some antibiotics useless due to overprescription?