Hagia Filosofia

Parkinson’s Law of Triviality is an argument by C. Northcote Parkinson that says organizations “give disproportionate weight to trivial issues.” In his example, a committee within a nuclear powerplants deliberates two separate issues: one regarding the operations of the nuclear power plant and the other regarding the construction of a bike-shed. The former is a complex subject, so even if a few members have concerns, they might be likely to silence their reservations lest their concerns seem ill-informed. However, the latter is a safer topic, so everyone perceives themselves to be an expert in that regard. Even though the operations of the power plant is more important, deliberations about the color/material/placement of the bike shed is more likely to cause the most endless discussions versus say, the necessity of the shed.

Perhaps this explains why on the Gothamist (a blog about New York City), posts about removing bike lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge spark a far greater discussion than the political platform of mayoral candidates. While the latter has far greater implications on every New Yorker’s future, the former is far easier to understand and have an opinion on, regardless of whether one commutes on the Bridge or not.