Why Complex Things Break More Easily Than Simple Ones

Have you ever noticed how a simple tool like a hammer can last decades while your smartphone might need replacement after just a few years? This goes beyond planned obsolescence - it's a fundamental principle of physics and systems design. Let's explore why complexity and durability often exist in an inverse relationship.

The Utility of Things 🛠️

We have things for a reason. We use them to help us for some purpose. They can help for a variety of purposes, from the most basic, like physiological needs, to the more complex, like helping us achieve our goals, as you'd see in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:

🥪 Physiological needs: Food, water, shelter, sleep, wifi, etc...
🏠 Safety needs: Safety, security, stability, etc...
❤️ Love and Belonging needs: Social interaction, relationships, etc...
🌟 Esteem needs: Recognition, respect, etc...
🎯 Self-actualization needs: Personal growth, creativity, etc...

Different things are useful for different purposes. Sometimes the things are useful for multiple purposes. Sometimes, the things are useful for purpose that limited to being almost nothing at all. Something like a bobble head plastic elvis in a car dashboard, may only provid a bit of happiness for those who see it. It might signal interests and personality to others, but its total value may be primarily derived from the owner's experience of buying it in Hawaii.

In general, though, the more complex something is, the more diverse value it can provide. Take your computer. It can be used for a variety of purposes. You can use it to browse the web, write documents, make art, edit videos, play games, and more. The more complex something is, the more diverse value it can provide. A spoon? Well that's good for stirring soup or maybe playfully patting your loved one on the arm with it. It certainly won't be doing your taxes!

Entropy and the Breaking Point:

When Things Fall Apart

Everything has a natural tendency to break down over time. This breakdown happens at levels we can observe. From stars that died or demolished, creating the elements that make everything, to the cells in all life forms. It is the law of physics that entropy always increases unless energy is added to the system. But when do things fall apart, and under what conditions? The answer of course, depends on what system and its environment.

Here are some examples:

A simple metal spoon might last decades, submerging in hot soup all the time
A kitchen gadget like a blender, probably should not be submerged in water, but might work if you accidentally washed it. even if it is, it can break more easily, there are a lot more ways for it to break: can burn out, have plastic-parts snap, or have the blades bent etc. Depending on how often it is used, a well built blender won't last as long as the spoon.
A computer, with billions of transistors and millions of conections, should certainly not be submerged in water (or coffee). That could easily destroy it. Even if we only broke one thing, like the power supply, the computer would still be useless until we fixed it.

In general we can see a pattern though:

The more parts something has, the more likely one will break
The more complex something is, the more likely it is to break
The more dependencies something has, the more likely it is to break

Entropy, Durability, and Complexity