DEPENDING on how long you were stuck in meetings today, committees are either the ultimate expression of humanity’s ability to pool its talent, or its supremely time-wasting invention. So it is welcome that, to find out which, mathematicians have revisited the pioneering work of British humorist C. Northcote Parkinson (see “Parkinson’s law revisited”).
Their findings on the maximum size of an effective committee, for example, suggest that the European Union’s unwieldy membership of 27 is not helpful when it comes to making quick, decisive choices. And controversy is likely to be stirred by the news that the number 8…
