Endogenous complexity, specialisation and general education

Abstract

Purpose

Complexity is endogenous for humans and increasing at an accelerating rate. At the same time individual lives become better and even simpler. This seems to be a paradox for which this paper aims to offer a solution.

Design/methodology/approach

The paradox and its solution are explained in some detail.

Findings

Specialisation is the missing link which fuels overall complexity and shelters individuals from it. Specialisation is a good solution for most problems arising from increasing complexity, although it results in some problems of its own and general knowledge is still needed as well as general education to obtain this knowledge.

Research limitations/implications

The presented argument is quite general in itself and needs further elaboration and empirical testing.

Practical implications

Aims and limits of specialised as well as general education are discussed.

Social implications

The right kind and amount of general education increases welfare and efficiency.

Originality/value

This connection between complexity, specialisation and education has not been shown before (at least to the best of knowledge of the author, who has the same problems to deal with the complexity of all human knowledge as everybody else).

Citation

Dilger, A. (2012), "Endogenous complexity, specialisation and general education", On the Horizon, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 49-53. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748121211202062