In optimization, a tool for battling complexity is Divide and Conquer.

When a big problem is too tough, break it down into a smaller problem. Still too tough? Break it down smaller still.

What’s the problem with the information age? Too much information.

Imagine trying to organize a massive record collection, wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling. Will you sort it alphabetically by album title? I doubt it. You might sort it by artist. You might sort it by genre. You might sort it by how often you play it.

In general, you create categories — bins — to place them in.

The Internet has grown up, but the tools to manage the information haven’t kept up. Look around – a catch-all “music” bucket is worthless.

Our tastes are too deep and different. Even with categories, they don’t do much better than one large genre. In reality, even each genre fractures into slivers of fanatics.

Sadly, the information world is still flat. They still expect you to reach for things as if you’re looking up the title of the record you want.

Flat doesn’t cut it anymore. We have too much information to access it flat.

It’s getting too crowded. Too messy. So what’s the next step? Hierarchy.