HF Day 5: Are We Getting Better?

Source: Resonance Science Foundation

This is the last of a series of posts about the “Critical Thinking in Safety” lab put on by Lund University in Lund, Sweden as part of their Human Factors in System Safety MSc. You can find part one (and an index) here.

Day 5 was a shorter day, and largely a collaborative discussion among the people sitting at each table. I will list some standout points briefly before concluding my thoughts on the learning lab.

• The Law of Requisite Variety — a control system must have at least as many states as the system it intends to control in order to remain stable
• Simple systems can use simpler methods for implementing and protecting safety and reliability. The needs change dramatically as the system grows more complex — and it’s not a linear function
• There are limits to redundancy
• “If we enhance our imagination, we move forward”
• Holism is generally better than reductionism when considering complex systems. Context is king. Emergent behavior is the key.
• There is such a thing as…