E. O. Wilson

Wood and Humidity

Wood and Humidity

(cross-section)

Oak Tree

Sky is Blue

Impedance Matching

Impedance Matching

Smith Chart

of

Impedance

Matching

Early, Basic

Encyclopedia

Russ

Ackoff

E. A. Singer

Edited by

C. West Churchman

Henry

James

Charles Peirce

  At the heart of a purposeful system is the sensate called satisfied. When a valued outcome is achieved, the individual is rewarded by this sensate. When a valued outcome is not achieved, the individual is punished by the sensate of dissatisfaction.

  Satisfied in the American Heritage Dictionary, 3rd ed: The fulfillment or gratification of a desire, a need,

or an appetite (p. 1605).

  In On Purposeful Systems, Ackoff defines Satisfaction:

An individual's degree of satisfaction with anobject, event or property of either, or a state, X,is his degree of intention to produce a nonchangein X (p. 101).

Jewel

Kilcher

  Jewel Kilcher, a striking country singer, and Liz Rose recently wrote and released the song “Satisfied.”

   If we have the exactness of operationally defined words such as satisfaction (and regret) we can analyze the behaviors of individuals and analyze creative works such as songs. Let’s turn to the Jewel song to see if there is a resonance between the exactness of Ackoff’s definitions.   We notice in the Jewel lyrics,  

Hold on for all your worth 

Cause the only real pain a heart can ever know

  Is the sorrow of regret

[When you don't let your feelings show]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satisfied_(Jewel_song)

http://www.cmt.com/videos/jewel/517492/satisfied.jhtml

http://www.urbancountryblog.com/2010/05/new-video-satisfied-jewel.html

  Ackoff defines regret as,

An individual regrets his earlier choice (or lack of choice)Of a course of action if he believes that it was a producerof an unintended outcome with which he is dissatisfied(pp. 102-3)

So, indeed, each and every time we make a choice, or nonchoice, and are dissatisfied, we feel regret. But, Jewel is saying more than this. We make these choices with every intention that the result will be satisfying, and if we hold back and close ourselves off, we not only cut off the regrets but we cut off the possibilities of satisfaction. So to receive satisfaction is to put oneself at risk of possibly being dissatisfied.

Kybernetics

Oarsman

Inductive

Reasoning

Ackoff's work and in particular know of a book that was first published as Choice, Communication and Conflict, now entitled On Purposeful Systems. As I had written an Amazon review of the book, the newest edition of the book quotes me as follows,   What makes this book 'magical' is that Ackoff provides 'operational Definitions' for many ill-defined words and concepts - from defining 'knowledge' and 'understanding' to providing definitions of feelings/emotions .... In terms of Kuhn's idea of paradigm shifts - this book represents a shift that has yet to be appreciated, thirty years later.

Bayes

Theorem

In Summary

I hope you will at least entertain the notion that operationally defined words are attainable and, further, that reasonable people have agreed on a single, often single sentenced, definition. I invite you to see these fundamental definitions as a core of a true Inter-Net, where the meaning of words used in defining more complex knowledge can be traced, not via a web hyperlink to one of many possible other uses of the word, but via a placement of that knowledge in the Inter-Net where there is one and only one path leading back to the core defined word.

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