Guardian Australia · Mathematics

The efficiency trap: why optimising everything can backfire, badly

· By Steven Strogatz and Alex Townsend
Story summary

From roundabouts to the stock market, relentless streamlining could be making the world more dangerousWe have all been there: packed shoulder to shoulder on the train while the person beside us coughs and sneezes. A protective flu jab offers some reassurance, but so does the thought that there will be a hospital bed…

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