Alternative quotes
From Motley Bytes Wiki
Contents
Robert_Boyle
Good Hypothesis
“The Requisites of a good Hypothesis are: : That It be Intelligible. : That It neither Assume nor Suppose anything Impossible, unintelligible, or demonstrably False. : That It be consistent with Itself. : That It be lit and sufficient to Explicate the Phaenomena, especially the chief. : That It be, at least, consistent, with the rest of the Phaenomena It particularly relates to, and do not contradict any other known Phaenomena of nature, or manifest Physical Truth. The Qualities and Conditions of an Excellent Hypothesis are: : That It be not Precarious, but have sufficient Grounds In the nature of the Thing Itself or at least be well recommended by some Auxiliary Proofs. : That It be the Simplest of all the good ones we are able to frame, at least containing nothing that is superfluous or Impertinent. : That It be the only Hypothesis that can Explicate the Phaenomena; or at least, that do's Explicate them so well. : That it enable a skillful naturalist to foretell future Phaenomena by the Congruity or Incongruity to it; and especially the event of such experiments as are aptly devised to examine It, as Things that ought, or ought not, to be consequent to It.”
- Source: Robert Boyle, Boyle Papers, 37. Quoted In Barbara Kaplan (ed.), Divulging of Useful Truths in Physick: The Medical Agenda of Robert Boyle (1993), 50.
- Keywords: Hypothesis_quotes Communication_quotes Obfuscation_quotes Impossibility_quotes Falsification_quotes Consistency_quotes Explanation_quotes Nature_quotes Truth_quotes Contradiction_quotes Proof_quotes Simplicity_quotes Alternative_quotes Congruity_quotes Incongruity_quotes Experiment_quotes Prediction_quotes Induction_quotes Scientific_Method_quotes Good_quotes Requisite_quotes Intelligent_quotes Assumption_quotes Suppose_quotes Unintelligent_quotes Demonstrate_quotes False_quotes Self_quotes Phenomenon_quotes Chief_quotes Physical_quotes Quality_quotes Condition_quotes Excellent_quotes Precarious_quotes Sufficient_quotes Ground_quotes Auxiliary_quotes Frame_quotes Superfluous_quotes Impertinent_quotes Enable_quotes Skill_quotes Foretell_quotes Future_quotes Event_quotes Devise_quotes Examine_quotes Consequence_quotes
Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi
Daydreaming
“One of the simplest ways to use the mind is daydreaming: playing out some sequence of events as mental images. But even this apparently easy way to order thought is beyond the range of many people... Daydreaming not only helps create emotional order by compensating in imagination for unpleasant reality — as when a person can reduce frustration and aggression against someone who has caused injury by visualizing a situation in which the aggressor is punished — but it also allows children and adults to rehearse imaginary situations so that the best strategy for confronting them may be adopted, alternative options considered, unanticipated consequences discovered — all results that help increase the complexity of consciousness. And, of course, when used with skill, daydreaming can be very enjoyable.”
- Source: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the book “Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience“, chapter “The Flow of Thought”, page 120. Original content published by Harper Perennial Modern Classics in 1990. Kindle edition published by Harper Collins in 2008. ISBN: 978-0061876721.
- Keywords: Simple_quotes Way_quotes Mind_quotes Daydreaming_quotes Play_quotes Event_quotes Mental_quotes Image_quotes Order_quotes Thought_quotes Beyond_quotes Range_quotes People_quotes Help_quotes Emotion_quotes Compensate_quotes Imagination_quotes Unpleasant_quotes Reality_quotes Reduce_quotes Person_quotes Frustration_quotes Aggression_quotes Cause_quotes Injury_quotes Visualize_quotes Situation_quotes Punish_quotes Allow_quotes Reherse_quotes Best_quotes Strategy_quotes Optimization_quotes Confront_quotes Adopt_quotes Alternative_quotes Unanticipated_quotes Consequence_quotes Discover_quotes Result_quotes Increase_quotes Complexity_quotes Consciousness_quotes Use_quotes Skill_quotes Enjoyable_quotes
Peter_Drucker
Functioning Society or Tyranny
“We have only one alternative: either to build a functioning industrial society or see freedom itself disappear in anarchy and tyranny.”
- Source: Drucker, P. F. (1942). The Future of Industrial Man. Page 96. DOI: 10.4324/9781315132143.
- Keywords" Alternative_quotes Build_quotes Function_quotes Industry_quotes Society_quotes Anarchy_quotes Tyranny_quotes Freedom_quotes
David_Epstein
Haiku
“Haiku, the three-line poem made by alternating lines of five, seven, and five syllables... in the seventeenth century, a student of Zen named Matsuo Bashō... made it into its own serious form, imbued with Zen principles. Not only were the words spare, but the ethos was as well... It prompted poets to pause and look mindfully at the world around them... This minuscule problem space is known around the world for its ability to turn anyone, from kindergartener to adult, into a probing wordsmith in an instant. Look around you; try it. The form's scarcity will immediately ignite an exploration of new linguistic possibilities in your mind.”
- Source: David Epstein in the book “Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better”. Published 2026 by Riverhead Books. Page 68. ISBN 978-0593715734 (Ebook).
- Keywords: Haiku_quotes Poem_quotes Make_quotes Alternative_quotes Line_quotes Syllable_quotes Century_quotes Student_quotes Zen_quotes Serious_quotes Form_quotes Imbue_quotes Principle_quotes Spare_quotes Ethos_quotes Prompt_quotes Poet_quotes Pause_quotes Look_quotes Mindful_quotes World_quotes Around_quotes Minuscule_quotes Problem_quotes Space_quotes Know_quotes Ability_quotes Turn_quotes Anyone_quotes Kindergarten_quotes Adult_quotes Probe_quotes Wordsmith_quotes Instant_quotes Try_quotes Scarce_quotes Immediate_quotes Ignite_quotes Explore_quotes Linguistic_quotes Possibility_quotes Mind_quotes
Nelson_Goodman
Simple Theories
“For if as scientists we seek simplicity, then obviously we try the simplest surviving theory first, and retreat from it only when it proves false. Not this course, but any other, requires explanation. If you want to go somewhere quickly, and several alternate routes are equally likely to be open, no one asks why you take the shortest. The simplest theory is to be chosen not because it is the most likely to be true but because it is scientifically the most rewarding among equally likely alternatives. We aim at simplicity and hope for truth.”
- Source: Nelson Goodman, Problems and Projects (1972), 352.
- Keywords: Science_quotes Simplicity_quotes Survival_quotes Theory_quotes Falsification_quotes Explanation_quotes Quick_quotes Reward_quotes Alternative_quotes Hope_quotes Truth_quotes Occams_Razor_quotes Retreat_quotes Proof_quotes False_quotes Course_quotes Go_quotes Several_quotes Route_quotes Equal_quotes Probable_quotes Likely_quotes
Steven_Pinker
Computational Mind Probabilistic
“The computational theory thus embraces an alternative kind of computer with many elements that are active to a degree corresponding to the probability that some statement is true or false, and in which the activity levels change smoothly to register new and roughly accurate probabilities. (As we shall see, that may be the way the brain works.) The key idea is that the answer to the question 'What makes a system smart?' is not the kind of stuff it is made of or the kind of energy flowing through it, but what the parts of the machine stand for and how the patterns of changes inside it are designed to mirror truth-preserving relationships (including probabilistic and fuzzy truths).”
- Source: Steven Pinker (1997). How the Mind Works. New York, NY: W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-06973-0; eISBN 978-0-393-06973-0. Chapter 2 Section: The search for Intelligent Life in the Universe.
- Keywords: Computation_quotes Theory_quotes Embrace_quotes Alternative_quotes Kind_quotes Computer_quotes Element_quotes Activity_quotes Degree_quotes Correspondence_quotes Probability_quotes Statement_quotes True_quotes False_quotes Level_quotes Change_quotes Smooth_quotes Register_quotes Rough_quotes Accuracy_quotes Sight_quotes Way_quotes Brain_quotes Work_quotes Key_quotes Idea_quotes Answer_quotes Question_quotes System_quotes Smart_quotes Stuff_quotes Energy_quotes Flow_quotes Part_quotes Machine_quotes Stand_quotes Pattern_quotes Inside_quotes Design_quotes Mirror_quotes Fuzzy_quotes Truth_quotes Preservation_quotes Mind_quotes
Herbert_Simon
Artificial Intelligence Satisfice
“The alternative methods provided by AI, most often in the form of heuristic search (selective search using rules of thumb), find decisions that are 'good enough', that satisfice.”
- Source: Simon, H. A. (1996). The Sciences of the Artificial (Third Edition). Computers & Mathematics with Applications (3rd ed., Vol. 33). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN: 9780585360102. Retrieved 2018-08-23 from https://monoskop.org/images/9/9c/Simon_Herbert_A_The_Sciences_of_the_Artificial_3rd_ed.pdf. Chapter 2, page 28.
Satisficer
“The real economic actor is in fact a satisficer, a person who accepts 'good enough' alternatives, not because less is preferred to more but because there is no choice.”
- Source: Simon, H. A. (1996). The Sciences of the Artificial (Third Edition). Computers & Mathematics with Applications (3rd ed., Vol. 33). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN: 9780585360102. Retrieved 2018-08-23 from https://monoskop.org/images/9/9c/Simon_Herbert_A_The_Sciences_of_the_Artificial_3rd_ed.pdf. Chapter 2, page 29.
- Keywords: Reality_quotes Economics_quotes Actor_quotes Fact_quotes Satisfice_quotes Person_quotes Acceptance_quotes Good_quotes Alternative_quotes Choice_quotes Preference_quotes Enough_quotes
Long Definition of Design
“The ‘inner environment' of the design problem is represented by a set of given alternatives of action. The alternatives may be given in extenso: more commonly they are specified in terms of command variables that have defined domains. The ‘outer environment' is represented by a set of parameters, which may be known with certainty or only in terms of a probability distribution. The goals for adaptation of inner to outer environment are defined by a utility function a function, usually scalar, of the command variables and environmental parameters perhaps supplemented by a number of constraints (inequalities, say, between functions of the command variables and environmental parameters). The optimization problem is to find an admissible set of values of the command variables, compatible with the constraints, that maximize the utility function for the given values of the environmental parameters. (In the probabilistic case we might say, 'maximize the expected value of the utility function,' for instance, instead of 'maximize the utility function.')”
- Source: Simon, H. A. (1996). The Sciences of the Artificial (Third Edition). Computers & Mathematics with Applications (3rd ed., Vol. 33). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN: 9780585360102. Retrieved 2018-08-23 from https://monoskop.org/images/9/9c/Simon_Herbert_A_The_Sciences_of_the_Artificial_3rd_ed.pdf. Chapter 5, page 116.
- Keywords: Inner_quotes Environment_quotes Design_quotes Problem_quotes Representation_quotes Set_quotes Alternative_quotes Action_quotes Extenso_quotes Common_quotes Specification_quotes Term_quotes Command_quotes Variable_quotes Definition_quotes Domain_quotes Outer_quotes Parameter_quotes Knowledge_quotes Certainty_quotes Probability_quotes Distribution_quotes Goal_quotes Adaptation_quotes Utility_quotes Function_quotes Scalar_quotes Supplement_quotes Number_quotes Constraint_quotes Maximum_quotes Value_quotes Compatibility_quotes Case_quotes Expectation_quotes Inequality_quotes Optimization_quotes Admissible_quotes
Top Down or Bottom Up
“Alternatives are also open, in organizing the design process, as to how far development of possible subsystems will be carried before the overall coordinating design is developed in detail, or vice-versa, how far the overall design should be carried before various components, or possible components, are developed. These alternatives of design are familiar to architects. They are familiar also to composers, who must decide how far the architectonics of a musical structure will be evolved before some of the component musical themes and other elements have been invented. Computer programmers face the same choices, between working downward from executive routines to subroutines or upward from component subroutines to a coordinating executive.”
- Source: Simon, H. A. (1996). The Sciences of the Artificial (Third Edition). Computers & Mathematics with Applications (3rd ed., Vol. 33). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN: 9780585360102. Retrieved 2018-08-23 from https://monoskop.org/images/9/9c/Simon_Herbert_A_The_Sciences_of_the_Artificial_3rd_ed.pdf. Chapter 5, page 129.
- Keywords: Alternative_quotes Open_quotes Organize_quotes Design_quotes Process_quotes Far_quotes Development_quotes Subsystem_quotes Carry_quotes Coordination_quotes Detail_quotes Vice-versa_quotes Overall_quotes Component_quotes Possibility_quotes Familiar_quotes Composer_quotes Decision_quotes Architectonic_quotes Music_quotes Theme_quotes Element_quotes Invention_quotes Computer_quotes Programmer_quotes Face_quotes Choice_quotes Work_quotes Downward_quotes Executive_quotes Routine_quotes Subroutine_quotes Upward_quotes Structure_quotes Evolve_quotes
Ellis_Leon_Yochelson
Scientists Make Predictions
“Scientists are supposed to make predictions, probably to prove they are human and can be as mistaken as anyone else. Long-range predictions are better to make because the audience to whom the prediction was made is no longer around to ask questions. The alternative... is to make conflicting predictions, so that one prediction may prove right.”
- Source: Ellis Leon Yochelson. 'Fossils—The How and Why of Collecting and Storing', Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (1969), 82, 597.
Shoshana_Zuboff
Manager Panic
“People at every organizational level -- managers, engineers, and operators -- each spent a good deal of time speculating on the sources of this dynamic and its ultimate consequences. One top manager maintained that the core of the problem was the lack of an alternative to the traditional managerial function. ‘The problem is that managers don't have skills and knowledge or a vision of their new role. They are asking, What is going to happen to me? And so they are in a panic.'”
- Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 251. ISBN:0465032125.
- Keywords: People_quotes Organization_quotes Hierarchy_quotes Consequence_quotes Tradition_quotes Skill_quotes Knowledge_quotes Vision_quotes Uncertainty_quotes Panic_quotes Level_quotes Manager_quotes Engineer_quotes Operator_quotes Time_quotes Speculate_quotes Source_quotes Dynamic_quotes Ultimate_quotes Top_quotes Maintain_quotes Core_quotes Problem_quotes Lack_quotes Alternative_quotes Function_quotes Role_quotes Happen_quotes
World Lost or Gained
'“There is a world to be lost and a world to be gained. Choices that appear to be merely technical will redefine our lives together at work. This means more than simply contemplating the implications or consequences of a new technology. It means that a powerful new technology, such as that represented by the computer, fundamentally reorganizes the infrastructure of our material world. It eliminates former alternatives. It creates new possibilities. It necessitates fresh choices.“
- Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 5 (Introduction). ISBN:0465032125.
- Keywords: World_quotes Loss_quotes Gain_quotes Decision_quotes Choice_quotes Technology_quotes Work_quotes Employment_quotes Consequence_quotes Contemplation_quotes Power_quotes Computer_quotes Material_quotes Infrastructure_quotes Alternative_quotes Possibility_quotesEliminate_quotes Reorganize_quotes Fresh_quotes
Life at the Data Interface
“Life at the data interface invites the worker into the abstract precincts of managerial work. It provides access to a broader view of the business as well as a deepened understanding of one's tasks and their role in the wider sphere of organizational functions. When work becomes synonymous with responsiveness to data, it engenders inquiry and dialogue, thus opening the way for workers to envision new possibilities and fresh alternatives to the reigning definitions of process, product, and organization.”
- Source: Zuboff, S. (1988). In The Age Of The Smart Machine: The Future Of Work And Power. New York, NY: Basic Books, p. 301. ISBN:0465032125.
- Keywords: Life_quotes Data_quotes Interface_quotes Work_quotes Organization_quotes Function_quotes Responsive_quotes Inquiry_quotes Dialogue_quotes Possibility_quotes Alternative_quotes Definition_quotes Process_quotes Product_quotes Invite_quotes Worker_quotes Abstract_quotes Precinct_quotes Management_quotes Provide_quotes Access_quotes Broad_quotes View_quotes Business_quotes Deep_quotes Understand_quotes Task_quotes Role_quotes Sphere_quotes Wide_quotes Synonymous_quotes Engender_quotes Open_quotes Way_quotes Envision_quotes Reign_quotes