Discovery Quote by Donella H. Meadows

““We can't impose our will on a system. We can listen to what the system tells us, and discover how its properties and our values can work together to bring forth something much better than could ever be produced by our will alone.””

Donella H. Meadows

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Discovery Systems Will Work together

More by Donella H. Meadows

“So, what is a system? A system is a set of things—people, cells, molecules, or whatever—interconnected in such a way that they produce their…

Donella H. Meadows

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“People don't need enormous cars; they need admiration and respect. They don't need a constant stream of new clothes; they need to feel that…

Donella H. Meadows

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“When we, system dynamicists, see a pattern persist in many parts of a system over long periods, we assume that it has causes embedded…

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“But rules for sustainability, like every workable social rule, would be put into place not to destroy freedoms, but to create freedoms or to…

Donella H. Meadows

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“Managers do not solve problems, they manage messes.”

Donella H. Meadows

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“You think that because you understand “one” that you must therefore understand “two” because one and one make two. But you forget that you…

Donella H. Meadows

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“The difference between a sustainable society and a present-day economic recession is like the difference between stopping and automobile purposefully with the brakes versus…

Donella H. Meadows

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“Model utility depends not on whether its driving scenarios are realistic (since no one can know that for sure), but on whether it responds…

Donella H. Meadows

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“Designing a system for intrinsic responsibility could mean, for example, requiring all towns or companies that emit wastewater into a stream to place their…

Donella H. Meadows

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“a system must consist of three kinds of things: elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose.”

Donella H. Meadows

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“The systems-thinking lens allows us to reclaim our intuition about whole systems and • hone our abilities to understand parts, • see interconnections, •…

Donella H. Meadows

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“One of the strangest assumptions of present-day mental models is the idea that world of moderation must be a world of strict, centralized government…

Donella H. Meadows

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Explore all 18 Donella H. Meadows quotes

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Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then [these?],…

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Throughout my work, I have assumed that the standard model is correct, and hence, the Higgs boson should be found. Although this is not…

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There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…

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New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…

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The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.

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“[W]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range…

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We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…

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That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city [Lagos] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit.

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Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…

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