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Theory Quotes

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Theory Quotes

“In an information economy, entrepreneurs master the science of information in order to overcome the laws of the purely physical sciences. They can succeed because of the surprising power of the laws of information, which are conducive to human creativity. The central concept of information theory is a measure of freedom of choice. The principle of matter, on the other hand, is not liberty but limitation- it has weight and occupies space.”

Source: Knowledge and Power: The Information Theory of Capitalism and How it is Revolutionizing our World

“The implication of game theory, which is also the implication of the third image, is, however, that the freedom of choice of any one state is limited by the actions of the others.”

States Action Choices Games Theory Thirds Implications Freedom Of Choice

Book:Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis

Source: Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis

“The rationale for accepting or rejecting any theory is thus fundamentally based on the idea of problem-solving progress. If one research tradition has solved more important problems than its rivals, then accepting that tradition is rational precisely to the degree that we are aiming to "progress," i.e., to maximize the scope f solved problems. In other words, the choice of one tradition over its rivals is a progressive (and thus a rational) choice precisely to the extent that the chosen tradition is a better problem solver than its rivals.”

Source: Progress and Its Problems: Towards a Theory of Scientific Growth

“One's own free unfettered choice, one's own caprice-however wild it may be, one's own fancy worked up at times to frenzy-is that very "most advantageous advantage" which we have overlooked, which comes under no classification and against which all systems and theories are continually being shattered to atoms... [an]will attain his object-that is, convince himself he is a man and not a piano-key!”

Men May Choices Objects Theory Keys Advantage Piano Fancy Convince Atoms Shattered Overlooked Frenzy Classification Caprice Piano Keys Notes From The Underground

Author:Fyodor Dostoevsky

“Thus even supposedly unadulterated facts of observation already are interfused with all sorts of conceptual pictures, model concepts, theories or whatever expression you choose. The choice is not whether to remain in the field of data or to theorize; the choice is only between models that are more or less abstract, generalized, near or more remote from direct observation, more or less suitable to represent observed phenomena.”

Facts Choices Fields Expression Theory Models Concepts Direct Observation Data Abstract You Choose Suitable

Author:Ludwig von Bertalanffy

“Letting the religious right teach ID in schools is like letting the Marines teach poetry in advanced combat training. As a scientist, I see these the relevancy between the two sets to be equal. If Kansas is going to mess up like this, the least it can do is not be hypocritical and allow equal time for other alternative "theories" like FSMism, which is by far the tastier choice.”

Ifs Two School Choices Can Do Religious Teach Theory Equal Training Scientist Mess Alternatives Combat Marine Kansas Hypocritical

Author:Julian Simon

“Most of Marx's predictions have failed to materialize, and his labor theory of value and other ideas have been proven wrong. Marx failed to recognize the incentive system built into the capitalist model - consumer choice and the profit motive of the entrepreneur. The irony is that capitalism, not socialism or Marxism, that has liberated the worker from the chains of poverty, monopoly, war, and oppression, and has better achieved Marx's vision of a millennium of hope, peace, abundance, leisure, and aesthetic expression for the 'full' human being.”

“It is rational to choose the right means to your ends to develop very elegant abstract formal theories of rational choice, and then turn these into what look like moral theories. Philosophers tend to be ravished by the formal beauty of such theories, and they don't pay much attention to the fact that our human limitations make them pretty useless in practice, while the simple point about instrumental reasoning is too shallow to be of much real moral interest.”

Humans Looks Mean Real Ends Facts Turns Choices Interest Simple Pay Attention Moral Practice Theory Philosopher Rational Limitation Useless Abstract Reasoning Formal Shallow Elegant

Author:Allen W. Wood