17 points | by Jtsummers 14 hours ago
5 comments
Related rules of thumb, from the conclusion of James C. Scott's Seeing Like a State (pages 344–45 in my version):
- Plan on surprises.
- Plan on human inventiveness.
- Favor reversibility.
- Take small steps; stand back; and observe before doing more.
Buffer, optionality, advantageous smallness, and bricolage are our watchwords.
"It is impossible to legislate for the future." —Prince Peter Kropotkin
"The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to keep all the parts." —Aldo Leopold
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See also Gall's Law.
- Act always to increase options - von Foerster
- Act always to increase possibility - Nora Bateson
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17764576 - August 2018, 12 comments
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13959999 - March 2017, 11 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_leverage_points
FYI this is one of the authors of The Limits to Growth.
Related rules of thumb, from the conclusion of James C. Scott's Seeing Like a State (pages 344–45 in my version):
- Plan on surprises.
- Plan on human inventiveness.
- Favor reversibility.
- Take small steps; stand back; and observe before doing more.
Buffer, optionality, advantageous smallness, and bricolage are our watchwords.
"It is impossible to legislate for the future." —Prince Peter Kropotkin
"The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to keep all the parts." —Aldo Leopold
---
See also Gall's Law.
- Act always to increase options - von Foerster
- Act always to increase possibility - Nora Bateson
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17764576 - August 2018, 12 comments
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13959999 - March 2017, 11 comments
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_leverage_points
FYI this is one of the authors of The Limits to Growth.