‘Most of one’s life is one prolonged effort to prevent oneself thinking.’ –Aldous Huxley
John Kay’s thesis is quite straightforward: the subtitle “Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly” rather gives it away. He argues that we often cannot solve problems directly because of their inherent complexity, the incompleteness of our knowledge, the interdependence of the actors and the environment, and the fact that most models designed to assist decision-making are highly imperfect descriptions of reality. So we often get closest to our ultimate goal by pursuing intermediate objectives, or working towards some higher goal that may have the side-effect of delivering what we need, be it more profit, more market share, or success in politics or war.
unrelated { An Insufficient Appreciation of the Coen Brothers | Curator | full story }
