TOC, complexity, simplicity, and aeroplanes?

TOC has an unusual way of looking at complexity.

For instance, the first question in the sample TOC fundamentals exam asks: which of the following systems is more complex?

Most people would say system B but TOC says system A.  Why? Because you must touch 4 points to change system A but you only need touch 1 point to change system B.

Let me elaborate by quoting TOC expert Steve Holt, (from the cmsig list):

It's important to remember that Goldratt is a physicist and, consequently, uses the scientific method. One of the most sought after discoveries in physics is the Unified Field Theory. That is, the one theory that will fully explain how everything links together. Right now in physics there are 4 different types of forces that explain nature. The reason that physicists are looking for the one unifying theory is that they believe that having 4 is too complex, so there must be only one.

That seems like an odd statement, but it's important to know that when TOC says simple or complex it is with respect to the definition found in the scientific community. A complex system has more independent degrees of freedom than a simple system. It does NOT have to do with our common usage of the terms.

If we use the example of a jet plane, the question would be: Which is more complex, a jet plane or all of the parts that make up the jet plane? If all of the parts were laid out on the floor of a factory they'd each be "simple" pieces of metal, fasteners, clips, wires, etc. Nothing very complex, right? When we look at the finished plane after it's all put together we would tend to call it complex and not simple.

But, now think about the effort required to move the plane in the two forms. Which is easier to move 100 miles: a bunch of unassembled airplane parts or an airplane? The answer is that it is much, much simpler to move the airplane. A single person can do it. Thus, to a person using the scientific definition, the finished airplane is much less complex than all of its parts because it has fewer degrees of freedom.

This is why a core problem or core conflict at the bottom of a CRT is considered to be much less complex than a collection of unconnected UDEs, no matter how many links and entities are in the CRT. When you find the constraint of a system and act on it so as to influence the entire system from a single point you are treating the whole thing as a simple system.