The Perfect Swarm by Fisher Len;

Author:Fisher, Len;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Basic Books

Homo omnisciens—Not

One of my favorite cartoons features an angry husband saying to his wife, “I assume, then, that you regard yourself as omniscient. If I am wrong, correct me.”

If we were really omniscient, we would always reach the best conclusions from the available data. We would take in all the facts, weigh all the options, consider the pros and cons, and come to an opinion on the best course of action.

This is what Benjamin Franklin attempted to do with what he called “moral algebra,” which he described in a letter to the English chemist Joseph Priestley.

My way is to divide half a sheet of paper by a line into two columns; writing over the one Pro, and over the other Con. Then, during three or four days consideration, I put down under the different heads short hints of the different motives, that at different times occur to me, for or against the measure. When I have thus got them all together in one view, I endeavor to estimate their respective weights; and where I find two, one on each side, that seem equal, I strike them both out. If I find a reason pro equal to some two reasons con, I strike out the three. If I judge some two reasons con, equal to three reasons pro, I strike out the five; and thus proceeding I find at length where the balance lies.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.