Producing solutions by appreciating the interconnections

Sir, It is clear from Gillian Tett’s column (“Why soldiers and bankers must see the bigger picture”, January 29 ), that she is addressing a subject often consigned to the arcane deliberations among multidisciplinary researchers at the Santa Fe Institute: complexity theory.

After meeting Wall Street bankers and senior military officers, Ms Tett observes that, “It is clear that almost all institutions, from armies to banks, are becoming more complex. And that, in turn is creating a plethora of silos, where specialists beaver away, performing an activity that few understand. The irony is that, at the same time, our systems are increasingly interconnected – events on a trading desk or isolated battlefield can send ripples across the world.” 

Ms Tett also observes that upper financial and military management, aware of the one-dimensional tunnel vision of their fellows, are now taking steps to ensure that their colleagues practise their specialist trades within a multidimensional context that includes the bigger picture.

By doing so, and appreciating the interconnections within and among various components of the global “problematique”, they can better manage the phenomenon of unintended consequences and become more a part of the solution than of the problem.

This is easier said than done, of course, but at least recognition of “the problem” – in Afghanistan, the global financial system, among the “bottom billion”, or elsewhere – is the first step towards solving it.

This is the ultimate value of complexity theory, which Ms Tett’s article helps us to appreciate. By recognising that everything is connected to everything else and, therefore, that the problems of the 21st century cut across traditional disciplinary, organisational and political boundaries – defying the efforts of any one national or international actor – we might actually get some things done!