Part 2

Dealing with complexity and information overload

Part one dealt with chance and probability. This is a kind of uncertainty, but, it is the kind of uncertainty that can be handled with mathematics to bring about some degree of order and predictability. Once you ascertain probabilities, decisions can be made. However, it is not always possible to ascertain probabilities. Sometimes, it isn't even possible to know what it is you have to get the probability of.

In this section we are going to deal with quite a different type of uncertainty, where mathematics cannot help at all. It is the uncertainty and confusion that is caused by complexity and information overload. It is the uncertainty caused by having too many personal knowledge gaps and knowing that everyone else has knowledge gaps as well.

This is the real world of e-business, where it is not about knowing what is the best action to take but deciding what to do when you can't possibly know what is the best action to take.

Mathematics can't handle this kind of problem. But, a Game Theory framework can.