Efficient or Orderly

Chuck Marohn, on the difference between order and efficiency:

And all that “order” is making us dumb, unable to even question the obvious, let alone have the flexibility to adapt and optimize our situation. If we want the experiment of human settlement to progress, what we need is to introduce a little chaos. We need to unleash us all, allow us to adapt, to find different ways to solve the same problem and, in doing so, automatically optimize the experience of humanity for everyone.

I think Chuck’s distinction between order and efficiency is right on. Order is easy. Order is predictable, rational, logical. But efficiency is hard. Efficiency can be unpredictable, messy, even chaotic. Efficiency can be counterintuitive and even seem irrational.

One might argue that our suburban system of transportation is analogous to, even based on maybe, the human circulatory system - a hierarchy of paths leading to a central destination. While this may be true, it is a bad model for transportation. The human circulatory system is not a transportation network but a distribution system - more analogous to irrigation than transportation. The circulatory system is efficient because it is dealing with predictable volumes and flows, is relatively consistent, and there is no bias in destination (no choice). A transportation network has many more variables than a distribution system and therefore requires a more complex solution. It’s about time we realize that transportation isn’t a distribution network but is something much more complex and organic - perhaps even a little chaotic.