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When it comes to understanding large organizations I think a simple principle should apply: The Purpose of a System is What it Does[1]. Whether malicious or n
by tedivm 5mo ago
When it comes to understanding large organizations I think a simple principle should apply:
The Purpose of a System is What it Does[1].
Whether malicious or not, the system does what it does. If people wanted it to do something else they would change the system. The reality is that when corporations make mistakes that benefit them those mistakes rarely get fixed without some sort of public outcry, turning the "mistake" into a "feature".
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_what_it_does https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha...
- pegasus 5mo agoIntriguing concept, but I feel it needlessly breaks language. A more narrow (and to me, less pompous) formulation would be that social groups have their own purpose, different from (though not unrelated to) the purposes of the individual members. And this collective purpose can be read best from the actions of the collective, just like the purpose of a person is best divined from their actions (actions speak louder than words). More about where I think Stafford Beer goes wrong here: https://gemini.google.com/share/9a14f90f096e https://gemini.google.com/share/9a14f90f096e
- dgb23 5mo agoThe insight for me is that the assumptions of system need to be stated, not just the intent.