Also, on your description of designs factorizing into parts, maybe you already know this, but I wanted to highlight that often “factorization”, even when neat, isn’t just a straightforward decomposition into separate parts. For example, say you’re designing a distributed system. You might have a kind of “vertical” decomposition into roles like leader and follower. But then also a “horizontal” decomposition into different kinds of data that get shared in different ways. The logic of roles and kinds of data might then interact, so that the algorithm is really conceptually two-dimensional.
(These kinds of issues make cognition harder to factorize)
Yes I agree with this. Another example is the way a two-by-four length of timber is a kind of “interface” between the wood mill and the construction worker. There is a lot of complexity in the construction of these at the wood mill, but the standard two-by-four means that the construction worker doesn’t have to care. This is also a kind of factorization that isn’t about decomposition into parts or subsystems.
Also, on your description of designs factorizing into parts, maybe you already know this, but I wanted to highlight that often “factorization”, even when neat, isn’t just a straightforward decomposition into separate parts. For example, say you’re designing a distributed system. You might have a kind of “vertical” decomposition into roles like leader and follower. But then also a “horizontal” decomposition into different kinds of data that get shared in different ways. The logic of roles and kinds of data might then interact, so that the algorithm is really conceptually two-dimensional.
(These kinds of issues make cognition harder to factorize)
Yes I agree with this. Another example is the way a two-by-four length of timber is a kind of “interface” between the wood mill and the construction worker. There is a lot of complexity in the construction of these at the wood mill, but the standard two-by-four means that the construction worker doesn’t have to care. This is also a kind of factorization that isn’t about decomposition into parts or subsystems.