The Checklist Manifesto

“The Problem of Extreme Complexity”

Humans like to think of themselves as being in complete control of their world, but, more often than not, they must deal with failure. Such defeats stem, in part, from what philosophers Samuel Gorovitz and Alasdair MacIntyre call “necessary fallibility”; that is, despite scientific advances, some efforts people pursue are “simply beyond” human capacity. In areas of great achievement, such as erecting skyscrapers, predicting violent weather and performing lifesaving surgery, even experts must humbly concede the limitations of advanced training and years of experience.

Error-based failure happens for two reasons: “ignorance and ineptitude.” Ignorance stems from the fact that people still have a lot to learn about the world and how it works. Ineptitude occurs when knowledge exists but people don’t apply it correctly. For example, in medicine, research has illuminated staggering amounts of knowledge about human health, so much so that ineptitude is now as great a problem as ignorance. Furthermore, sometimes the problem is “‘eptitude’ – making sure [to] apply the knowledge...consistently and correctly.”

Despite advances in technology...