[PLUG-TALK] Re: [PLUG] Sounds good to me ;)
Jeme A Brelin
jeme at brelin.net
Sun Jun 23 07:00:58 UTC 2002
On 22 Jun 2002, Russell Senior wrote:
> If you like to read about other unintended effects of human management
> of all sorts of things, see the fascinating book by Edward Tenner,
> _Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended
> Consequences_.
This sounds fascinating and I appreciate the recommendation. I'll check
it out soon, I think.
I've been saying for years that the scientific recognition of the basic
elements of chaos theory (strange attraction, non-linear systems, etc.)
and the antecedent acknowledgement that some things just aren't
predictable or managable should have given some kind of proof to the
ancient wisdom that the arrogance of man is doomed to destroy him.
I figured the social sciences, for one, should be informed straight away
that their attempts to predict and manage dynamic, complex systems like
minds and cultures have been proven impossible and pointless by modern
mathematics. We argued it for a while, actually. The teacher turned red,
started to cry, then kicked me out of class. I received a reprimand from
the Dean of Students and then a pardon from the President of the College
after some hard lobbying by the Student Advocate.
I still got a D in Psychology.
J.
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Jeme A Brelin
jeme at brelin.net
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