“Numbers are the product of counting. Quantities are the product of measurement. This means that numbers can conceivably be accurate because there is a discontinuity between each integer and the next. Between two and three there is a jump. In the case of quantity, there is no such jump; and because jump is missing in the world of quantity, it is impossible for any quantity to be exact. You can have exactly three tomatoes. You can never have exactly three gallons of water. Always quantity is approximate.” WorldMeanTwoThreeNextWaterNumbersCasesImpossibleMissingProductsQuantityAccurateCountingMeasurementTomatoesGallonsDiscontinuityIntegers Author:Gregory Bateson
“Numbers are the product of counting. Quantities are the product of measurement. This means that numbers can conceivably be accurate because there is a discontinuity between each integer and the next.” MeanNextNumbersProductsQuantityAccurateCountingMeasurementDiscontinuityIntegers Author:Gregory Bateson
“Rather, for all objects and experiences, there is a quantity that has optimum value. Above that quantity, the variable becomes toxic. To fall below that value is to be deprived.” ValuesFallObjectsToxicQuantityFalling ApartDeprivedVariablesOptimum Author:Gregory Bateson
“Desired substance, things, patterns, or sequences of experience that are in some sense "good" for the organism - items of diet, conditions of life, temperature, entertainment, sex, and so forth - are never such that more of the something is always better than less of the something. Rather, for all objects and experiences, there is a quantity that has optimum value. Above that quantity, the variable becomes toxic. To fall below that value is to be deprived.” ValuesFallSexConditionsObjectsSimplicityPatternsEntertainmentSubstanceDietsToxicQuantityOrganismsItemsSequenceDeprivedTemperatureVariablesOptimum Author:Gregory Bateson
“It is impossible, in principle, to explain any pattern by invoking a single quantity.” PrinciplesImpossiblePatternsQuantityInsomnia Author:Gregory Bateson
“Number is different from quantity. This difference is basic for any sort of theorizing in behavioral science, any sort of imagining of what goes on between organisms or inside organisms as part of their processes of thought.” DifferentNumbersQuantity Author:Gregory Bateson
“There is a strong tendency in explanatory prose to invoke quantities of tension, energy, and whatnot to explain the genesis of pattern. I believe that all such explanations are inappropriate or wrong.” BelieveEnergyStrongI BelievePatternsTendenciesExplanationTensionProseQuantityGenesisInappropriateInvoke Author:Gregory Bateson
