The Limits of Design: Why Emergence Can’t Be Engineered
We like to believe that if we build the right structures, policies, teams, strategies, or incentive systems, something good will emerge. We hold on to the hope that good intentions paired with solid design will stabilize the future. But if we’re honest, we often don’t know whether they will.
We are not builders of certainty. We are gardeners of possibility.
Not every frame carries. Not every guardrail guides. Not every fence protects
We like to believe that if we build the right structures, policies, teams, strategies, or incentive systems, something good will emerge. We hold on to the hope that good intentions paired with solid design will stabilize the future. But if we’re honest, we often don’t know whether they will.
Because emergence cannot be engineered. And that’s not a problem of effort or intelligence. It’s a question of functional information.
