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Tools for Thought
Drawing on general systems theory, operations research, cybernetics, futures research, and catastrophe theory, a distinguished geneticist provides the general reader with tools for perceiving and solving today's complex economic, social, and ecological problems
- GenresBiology
250 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 1977
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98 people want to read
About the author
C.H. Waddington
34 books8 followersConrad Hal Waddington was a British biologist, embryologist, palaeontologist, geneticist and philosopher.
Waddington had wide interests that included poetry and painting, as well as left-wing political leanings. In his book The Scientific Attitude (1941), he touched on political topics such as central planning, and praised Marxism as a "profound scientific philosophy".
Waddington had wide interests that included poetry and painting, as well as left-wing political leanings. In his book The Scientific Attitude (1941), he touched on political topics such as central planning, and praised Marxism as a "profound scientific philosophy".
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 3, 2021
Sometimes a bit dated, but also contains timeless insights and wisdom. The conceptual drawings (Japanese style) also help.
Quotes:
The branch of philosophy which deals with morals and values requires discussion, even in a book with a methodological slant like this one; not because it provides Tools for Thought, but rather because it suggests what kind of tools are going to be required. p25
that the pathway of change is canalized. For the pathway itself one can use the name chreod, a word derived from Greek, which means 'necessary path'. p106
The essential point about the effective use of the scientific method is not that you try to prove or disprove hypotheses, which may often be no more than a matter of how do you choose to describe the situation, as in the last instance; it is whether one can discover how to ask important questions, and, in relation to each question, can devise experiments which give clear-cut answers one way or the other. p121
'My young friend,' he said, 'there is only one principle in designing experiments; the rest is statistics, leave that to the engineers. If one of my experi ments cannot be interpreted without statistics, I leave it and think of a better experiment.' And he turned away, as though the conversation was finished. 'Well, yes, Keilin,' I said, 'but what is the one principle of designing experiments?' He turned back. The one principle, my friend, is to design them so that they give an answer.' p129
the sensible things to do with statistics is either to become an expert at them, or just skim off the basic ideas. p136
Let us examine the steps which would actually be taken by an oper ational research worker confronted with a new problem. Suppose the executive authority for whom he is working has, in effect, said to him, 'What ought to be done about X?' Considerable practical experience has taught me that the first thing the scientist has to do in such circum stances is to face up to a problem which may sound rather paradoxical; he has to discover what it is that he ought to try to find out. Before he starts investigating anything, he should arrive at some opinion of what is worth investigating. It is surprising how often the importance of this stage is forgotten by those who have had little experience of delivering the scientific goods to an overworked practical man. p192
They [facts] are not only laborious to collect, but it is often an even more time-consuming and boring task to analyse them and extract any general meaning from the mass of detail. Sometimes the collection of data can be simplified by using some system of sampling, but even so, a hard core of drudgery is almost certain to remain, as it does in all scientific work. Operational research workers must not be afraid to tackle it. p195
This step of insisting on a factual check of the results of a new practice is absolutely essential if any further progress is to be made. It corresponds, of course, to the normal scientific procedure of not merely formulating a theory but then carrying out experiments to see if it works. It is, in my opinion, one of the major weaknesses of most con ventional administration that it either fails to carry out such checks at all, or at least gives little weight to them. Particularly in government circles, a good administrator is too often merely the man who can put into operation some large scheme of reform, quite without reference to whether the scheme turns out to be successful or not. p197
Quotes:
The branch of philosophy which deals with morals and values requires discussion, even in a book with a methodological slant like this one; not because it provides Tools for Thought, but rather because it suggests what kind of tools are going to be required. p25
that the pathway of change is canalized. For the pathway itself one can use the name chreod, a word derived from Greek, which means 'necessary path'. p106
The essential point about the effective use of the scientific method is not that you try to prove or disprove hypotheses, which may often be no more than a matter of how do you choose to describe the situation, as in the last instance; it is whether one can discover how to ask important questions, and, in relation to each question, can devise experiments which give clear-cut answers one way or the other. p121
'My young friend,' he said, 'there is only one principle in designing experiments; the rest is statistics, leave that to the engineers. If one of my experi ments cannot be interpreted without statistics, I leave it and think of a better experiment.' And he turned away, as though the conversation was finished. 'Well, yes, Keilin,' I said, 'but what is the one principle of designing experiments?' He turned back. The one principle, my friend, is to design them so that they give an answer.' p129
the sensible things to do with statistics is either to become an expert at them, or just skim off the basic ideas. p136
Let us examine the steps which would actually be taken by an oper ational research worker confronted with a new problem. Suppose the executive authority for whom he is working has, in effect, said to him, 'What ought to be done about X?' Considerable practical experience has taught me that the first thing the scientist has to do in such circum stances is to face up to a problem which may sound rather paradoxical; he has to discover what it is that he ought to try to find out. Before he starts investigating anything, he should arrive at some opinion of what is worth investigating. It is surprising how often the importance of this stage is forgotten by those who have had little experience of delivering the scientific goods to an overworked practical man. p192
They [facts] are not only laborious to collect, but it is often an even more time-consuming and boring task to analyse them and extract any general meaning from the mass of detail. Sometimes the collection of data can be simplified by using some system of sampling, but even so, a hard core of drudgery is almost certain to remain, as it does in all scientific work. Operational research workers must not be afraid to tackle it. p195
This step of insisting on a factual check of the results of a new practice is absolutely essential if any further progress is to be made. It corresponds, of course, to the normal scientific procedure of not merely formulating a theory but then carrying out experiments to see if it works. It is, in my opinion, one of the major weaknesses of most con ventional administration that it either fails to carry out such checks at all, or at least gives little weight to them. Particularly in government circles, a good administrator is too often merely the man who can put into operation some large scheme of reform, quite without reference to whether the scheme turns out to be successful or not. p197
January 17, 2018
Pointless
March 27, 2009
An accessible introduction to how systems theory and cybernetics can give us tools for understanding processes in the biological and social world written by a biologist. The book that first got me itnerested in undsrstanding complex systems.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews