Points of Failure and Necessary Complexity

Part 2 of The Decentralized Life

Summary: Points of failure need to be addressed and multiplied to achieve decentralization.

Failure is Inevitable

Decentralization is redundancy in processes, thus redundancy in points of failure.

Evaluating one's life to increase decentralization, takes into account the places where if one thing fails, it takes other things with it.

For example, having everything on your phone (gps, calendar, email, etc...) is convenient, but it is a single point of failure that can take down other processes.

The answer to that example seems obvious: have multiple devices (phone, tablet, laptop, pc), and have all those processes on cloud based services. This adds 2 more points of failure: access to your other devices, and access to the Internet.

Another point of failure is added by using services that can be backed up and used offline. Offline gps, doc managers, calendars, and at least recieved emails.

You now have multiple points of failure, but at what cost? Having to switch to services that allow offline backups, managing those offline backups, and keeping them up to date on multiple machines. It all adds another point of failure, which is you.

The Ultimate Point of Failure

Decentralization is in direct opposition to how most of humanity wants to live their lives. We want simplicity and ease.

The cost that comes with simplicity is less points of failure, and thus a life that could easily tumble into chaos at the drop of a hat.

So we come to a fork in the road: the steep cost of complex redundancy and the resulting decentralization, or simple and easy with the steep cost of living in a glass house.

Addition Over Subtraction

It's a choice between efficiencies: efficiency in times of peace, or efficiency in times of chaos.

A simplified life is a joy in good times, and a terror in bad times. A decentralized life, with all it's necessary complexity, redundancy, and multiplicity in points of failure, is a lot of work during the good times, but still holds together when everything goes to hell.

You haven't read this far because you're willing to pay that cost for simplicity. You are building a decentralized life, adding redundancy and increasing points of failure.

Continue that quest today by looking at the apps you use on your phone. What are the ones you use the most? Can you back then up for offline access? Can you back then up on multiple devices?

Start with one, as it may be more difficult than you anticipate. Most app makers, like most people, prioritize centralization for speed and efficiency. What begins as a seemingly simple journey to have some offline maps for your GPS, might turn into a quest for finding one that actually allows that.

Identify. Build. Survive. Thrive.