“One of the great breakthroughs of evolution theory is that you start with simple things and they will grow into complexity.” GrowsSimpleTheoryEvolutionComplexityBreakthroughSimple Things Author:Brian Eno
“It is essential to grasp the incontestable truth that a Marxist must take cognisance of real life, of the true facts of reality, and not cling to a theory of yesterday, which, like all theories, at best only outlines the main and the general, only comes near to embracing life in all its complexity.” RealFactsRealityTheoryEssentialsYesterdayReal LifeComplexityOutlinesMarxistTrue Fact Book:Bolshevism and the Russian Revolution Source: Bolshevism and the Russian Revolution
“Anthropology has reached that point of development where the careful investigation of facts shakes our firm belief in the far-reaching theories that have been built up. The complexity of each phenomenon dawns on our minds, and makes us desirous of proceeding more cautiously. Heretofore we have seen the features common to all human thought” MindHumansHas BeensFactsBeliefCommonTheoryDevelopmentBuiltCarefulFirmDawnFeaturesComplexityShakesReachingPhenomenonInvestigationAnthropologyProceedingHuman ThoughtFirm Beliefs Book:A Franz Boas Reader: The Shaping of American Anthropology, 1883-1911 Source: A Franz Boas Reader: The Shaping of American Anthropology, 1883-1911
“A second possible approach to general systems theory is through the arrangement of theoretical systems and constructs in a hierarchy of complexity, roughly corresponding to the complexity of the "individuals" of the various empirical fields... leading towards a "system of systems." [...] I suggest below a possible arrangement of "levels" of theoretical discourse...(vi) [...] the "animal" level, characterized by increased mobility, teleological behavior and self-awareness...” SelfIndividualAnimalLevelsAwarenessFieldsTheoryBehaviorApproachSelf AwarenessVariousComplexityArrangementsDiscourseConstructsHierarchyTheoreticalCorrespondingMobilitySystems Theory Author:Kenneth E. Boulding
“I am attempting to move away from the exclusionary practices of feminist theory, particularly anti-pornography rhetoric, in order to amplify the discussion about the complexity of pleasure for women.” MovingOrderPleasurePracticeTheoryFeministDiscussionComplexityRhetoricPornographyAttemptingAmplifyFeminist Theory Author:Barbara Degenevieve
“In the first stage of insight-building, all that researchers can do is observe phenomena. Second, they classify the phenomena in a way that helps them simplify the apparent complexities of the world so they can ignore the meaningless differences and draw connections between the things that really seem to matter. Third, based on the classification system, they propose a theory. The theory is a statement of what causes what and why, and under what circumstances.” WorldWayFirstsMatterHelpingSeemsCausesCan DoDifferencesStageBuildingTheoryCircumstancesDrawsConnectionsThirdsInsightStatementsComplexityMeaninglessProposeSimplifyResearchersClassification Author:Clayton Christensen
“My work was fairly theoretical. It was in recursive function theory. And in particular, hierarchies of functions in terms of computational complexity. I got involved in real computers and programming mainly by being - well, I was interested even as I came to graduate school.” WellsRealSchoolTermParticularTheoryInvolvedComputerFunctionComplexityProgrammingGraduatesHierarchyTheoreticalGraduate School Author:Dennis Ritchie