The efficiency trap: why optimising everything can backfire, badly
by Steven Strogatz and Alex Townsend from Technology | The Guardian on (#79MAG)
From roundabouts to the stock market, relentless streamlining could be making the world more dangerous
We 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 for you, should you need it. Yet, in England, about 95% of adult hospital beds were occupied at the height of flu season last year.
If hospitals were hotels, that level of occupancy would be good business, and we would commend themfor their efficiency. But do we really want a hospital to have so few beds in reserve that it's just one bad flu week away from having to treat patients incorridors?
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