“[T]ruly grand and powerful theories [...] do not and cannot rest upon single observations. Evolution is an inference from thousands of independent sources, the only conceptual structure that can make unified sense of all this disparate information. The failure of a particular claim usually records a local error, not the bankruptcy of a central theory. [...] If I mistakenly identify your father's brother as your own dad, you don't become genealogically rootless and created de novo. You still have a father; we just haven't located him properly.” IfsStillsFatherPowerfulRecordsHavensInformationParticularBrotherTheorySourceEvolutionDadClaimsIndependentStructureErrorsLocalsObservationBankruptcyUnifiedInference Author:Stephen Jay Gould
“My big problem with corporate structure is this bizarre sense of loyalty you're supposed to feel -- towards what is basically a virus. It grows or dies, like any virus. And you use it for your own selfish ends." - source” FeelsEndsUseProblemBigsDiesGrowsSourceStructureSelfishLoyaltyCorporateBizarreVirusesBig Problems Author:Thom Yorke
“I do think students in public school (and private) should be required to study the Bible. [...] As a matter of pure education, it's shocking that we [the americans] are not compelled to learn the book, which is the source of our language, our common stories, our political structure, our conflicts.” ThinkingShouldBookMatterStoriesSchoolPoliticalLanguageCommonStudyStudentsSourcePureConflictStructureShockingCompelledPublic School Author:David Plotz
“We never like to admit to ourselves that we have made a mistake. Organizational structures tend to accentuate this source of failure of information.” MadeMistakeInformationSourceStructureMade A MistakeOrganizationalAccentuateOrganizational Structure Author:Kenneth E. Boulding
“In the end, alchemy, whether it is metallurgical or financial, fails. A base business can not be transformed into a golden business by tricks of accounting or capital structure. The man claiming to be a financial alchemist may become rich. But gullible investors rather than business achievements will usually be the source of his wealth.” MenMayEndsWealthRichFailingHe ManSourceAchievementStructureInvestingFinancialTricksGoldenInvestorsTransformedCan NotAlchemyAccountingAlchemistGullibleBecome Rich Author:Warren Buffett
“Precisely constructed models for linguistic structure can play an important role, both negative and positive, in the process of discovery itself. By pushing a precise but inadequate formulation to an unacceptable conclusion, we can often expose the exact source of this inadequacy and, consequently, gain a deep understanding of the linguistic data. More positively, a formalized theory may automatically provide solutions for many problems other than those for which it was explicitly designed.” MayImportantPlayProblemProcessUnderstandingRolesTheorySourceModelsSolutionsDiscoveryGainsNegativeStructureConclusionDataPushingPrecisePositivelyInadequateInadequacyDeep UnderstandingNegative And Positive Book:Syntactic Structures Source: Syntactic Structures
“Nixon was the one force in Montgomery for a number of years that made any effort in the direction of challenging the power structure. Ed Nixon's source of direction for that comes out of his relationship with the Brotherhood of Sleeping Care Porters and the Randolph philosophy of mass action. So, Ed Nixon really was the force that conceived of the boycott and drew up the original papers for the boycott.” YearsMadePhilosophyCareActionForceChallengesSleepNumbersEffortSourcePaperMassOriginalsStructureBrotherhoodPapersBoycottMontgomery Author:Ella Baker
“I think, again, the overall intellectual structure of the speech is very much consistent with what Donald Trump has been saying on the campaign trail. He's against free trade. He's against immigration. But he has been in favor of tax reform, and he has been afraid of - in favor of developing American energy sources like through fracking or hydraulic fracturing.” ThinkingHas BeensEnergySourceTrumpTaxesSpeechIntellectualTradeStructureFavorsCampaignsImmigrationReformDevelopingConsistentTrailsFree TradeEnergy SourcesTax ReformFrackingHydraulic Fracturing Author:Avik Roy