Robert Kozma > Quotes

“And if technology is to be used to unlock the innate compassion we have for others, if it is to create a historical shift from the powerful to the powerless, if it is to do wonderful things that make the world a better place, it will not do it on its own. It will depend on how you use it to advance moral purposes.”
― Robert Kozma, Make the World a Better Place: Design with Passion, Purpose, and Values

“As mentioned, this conceptual knowledge, generated through the Scientific Tradition, has come to be used in the creation of designs in practical fields, such as mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, medicine, clinical psychology, social work, and education. It is easiest to measure the impact of scientific research on the economy. A study looked at the impact of research on economic growth in 65 countries over the period 1980–2016.19 They found that the amount of research output in a country increased economic growth, primarily through structural changes favoring the industrial sector. They found that academic knowledge was applied in a broad set of industries and that social and physical sciences impact economic growth the most. The impact of the research output of clinical and health sciences, and arts and humanities was characterized by low levels of applications, although they also led to positive economic growth.”
― Robert Kozma, Make the World a Better Place: Design with Passion, Purpose, and Values

“In these ways, Verbeek contends, designs “materialize morality”43 With the creation of designs, designers are often building in features and capabilities that, with their use and impact, have moral implications. It is in this way that designers have a special moral responsibility. They must think not only about the features they invent and intensions of their designs—what they would like to happen—but think about the moral impact, the consequences of their use.”
― Robert Kozma, Make the World a Better Place: Design with Passion, Purpose, and Values

“For Simon, “Everyone designs who changes existing situations into preferred ones” (p. 129).”
― Robert Kozma, Make the World a Better Place: Design with Passion, Purpose, and Values

“My purpose for this book is to provoke you, to inspire you, and to challenge you to make the world better. Ultimately, we are all confronted by our purpose in life, what the Japanese call ikigai: the convergence of one's personal passions, beliefs, values, and vocation.112 We must all decide on that which influences our career plans and our everyday actions, that which gives us satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment and meaning to our lives. In that personal quest, I hope you will find this book useful, and perhaps, apply what you learn, along with your own passion, purpose, and values, to design a better world.”
― Robert Kozma, Make the World a Better Place: Design with Passion, Purpose, and Values

“One philosopher, Karl Popper, contended that the limitations of the inferential, experimental method, which characterized science since Bacon, could not establish the truth of a proposition; it could only eliminate the alternative explanations that were tested.13 Thus, “truth” was tentative, waiting to be modified or even upended by the next set of experiments. The other, Thomas Kuhn, contended that, in fact, scientists were not objective seekers of truth, but rather, engaged in confirming the current “truth,” what Kuhn called the prevailing “paradigm” in the discipline. In the practice of what Kuhn called “normal science,” scientists were merely elaborating on this paradigm or using it to explain away any anomalies in their findings. It was only when anomalies accumulate to the point of crisis, when the current paradigm can no longer hold up, that the science opens to new, revolutionary ways of thinking that replace the old.”
― Robert Kozma, Make the World a Better Place: Design with Passion, Purpose, and Values