--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In the past half century, however, an…" description: "\"“In the past half century, however, an impressive body of formal theory has been erected by mathematical statisticians and economists to help us reason..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec9/herbert-simon-15495_different-values_in-the-past-half-century-however-an-impr_2984514.png" --- # In the past half century, however, an impressive body of… ![“In the past half century, however, an impressive body of formal theory has been erected by mathematical statisticians and economists to help us reason about these matters-without introducing a new kind of logic. The basic idea of this theory is to load all values into a single function, the…” quote by Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec9/herbert-simon-15495_different-values_in-the-past-half-century-however-an-impr_2984514.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec9/herbert-simon-15495_different-values_in-the-past-half-century-however-an-impr_2984514.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ec9/herbert-simon-15495_different-values_in-the-past-half-century-however-an-impr_2984514.png) > ““In the past half century, however, an impressive body of formal theory has been erected by mathematical statisticians and economists to help us reason about these matters-without introducing a new kind of logic. The basic idea of this theory is to load all values into a single function, the utility function, in this way finessing the question of how different values are to be compared. The comparison has in effect already been made when it is assumed that a utility has been assigned to each particular state of affairs. This formal theory is called subjective expected utility (SEU) theory. Its construction is one of the impressive intellectual achievements of the first half of the twentieth century. It is an elegant machine for applying reason to problems of choice.”” [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Subjective expected utility theory consolidates values into a single function, allowing rational choice without new logic. **In simple terms:** Combining values into one function for decision making. Key Takeaway Use utility functions to compare options. Themes decision theory economics rationality Mood analytical academic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - business strategy - public policy - personal finance Key Concepts utility theory formal modeling Questions to Reflect On - How does SEU handle irrational preferences? - When is a single utility insufficient? A Different Perspective Real-world decisions often involve emotions and incomplete information. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Different values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-values/) ## Related quotes > [“These are the four principal components of the SEU model: a cardinal utility function, an exhaustive set of alternative strategies, a probability distribution of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/these-are-the-four-principal-components-of-the-seu-model-a-cardinal/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [“You know what? This isn't about your feelings. A human life, with all its joys and all its pains, adding up over the course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/you-know-what-this-isn-t-about-your-feelings-a-human-life-with-all/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [“Although a large branch of game theory is devoted to the study of expected utility, we generally consider each player’s payoffs as a ranking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-spaniel/although-a-large-branch-of-game-theory-is-devoted-to-the-study-of/) William Spaniel > [If you want to maximize your expected utility, you try to save the world and the future of intergalactic civilization instead of donating your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/if-you-want-to-maximize-your-expected-utility-you-try-to-save-the/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [With everything you're letting go, I'm sure it's going to have a different value to you. And every time you let go you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/with-everything-you-re-letting-go-i-m-sure-it-s-going-to-have-a/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [My parents' work ethic amazed me. How could they put in such long hours, day after day? Part of the reason was to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-pekar/my-parents-work-ethic-amazed-me-how-could-they-put-in-such-long-hours/) [Harvey Pekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-pekar/) > [“There are different kinds of birds and there are different situations and places to find these birds. Some of these birds choose to eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/there-are-different-kinds-of-birds-and-there-are-different-situations/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [All of us assign different values to things, and not all of those values are going to line up with others'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/all-of-us-assign-different-values-to-things-and-not-all-of-those/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [You see Coach Nick Sirianni coming in preaching connection, accountability, competition, fundamentals and football IQ, preaching all these things. I know in all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jalen-hurts/you-see-coach-nick-sirianni-coming-in-preaching-connection/) [Jalen Hurts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jalen-hurts/) > [I think in rural settings, people have a different appreciation for animals than might the city dweller. In parts of India where poisonous snake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-think-in-rural-settings-people-have-a-different-appreciation-for/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [“I look forward to the day when our country will be a land of free expression: a country where the words of each citizen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/i-look-forward-to-the-day-when-our-country-will-be-a-land-of-free/) [Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/) > [I asked myself, 'How are you going to change all these people, they have different values, different customs, different language, different interpretations?' So that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/i-asked-myself-how-are-you-going-to-change-all-these-people-they-have/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [Since we live in a society that promotes faddism and temporary superficial adaptation of different values, we are easily convinced that changes have occurred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/since-we-live-in-a-society-that-promotes-faddism-and-temporary/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [Saudi Arabia isn't just a conservative country with different values we shouldn't judge. It is a modern Gilead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/saudi-arabia-isn-t-just-a-conservative-country-with-different-values/) [Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/) > [“two genders and three classes: superior people, commoners and slaves. Members of each gender and class have different values. The life of a female…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/two-genders-and-three-classes-superior-people-commoners-and-slaves/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More by Herbert Simon > [Engineering, medicine, business, architecture and painting are concerned not with the necessary but with the contingent - not with how things are but with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/engineering-medicine-business-architecture-and-painting-are-concerned/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [Technology may create a condition, but the questions are what do we do about ourselves. We better understand ourselves pretty clearly and we better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/technology-may-create-a-condition-but-the-questions-are-what-do-we-do/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [The world is vast, beautiful, and fascinating, even awe-inspiring - but impersonal. It demands nothing of me, and allows me to demand nothing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/the-world-is-vast-beautiful-and-fascinating-even-awe-inspiring-but/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [Innovation has a lot to do with your ability to recognise surprising and unusual phenomena.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/innovation-has-a-lot-to-do-with-your-ability-to-recognise-surprising/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [All correct reasoning is a grand system of tautologies, but only God can make direct use of that fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/all-correct-reasoning-is-a-grand-system-of-tautologies-but-only-god/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [“We see that reason is wholly instrumental. It cannot tell us where to go; at best it can tell us how to get there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/we-see-that-reason-is-wholly-instrumental-it-cannot-tell-us-where-to/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [“It is not my aim to surprise or shock you—but the simplest way I can summarize is to say that there are now in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/it-is-not-my-aim-to-surprise-or-shock-you-but-the-simplest-way-i-can/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [No one has characterized market mechanisms better than Friedrich von Hayek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/no-one-has-characterized-market-mechanisms-better-than-friedrich-von/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [One of the first rules of science is if somebody delivers a secret weapon to you, you better use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/one-of-the-first-rules-of-science-is-if-somebody-delivers-a-secret/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [The engineer, and more generally the designer, is concerned with how things ought to be - how they ought to be in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/the-engineer-and-more-generally-the-designer-is-concerned-with-how/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [ “\[Stated in 1965:\] Machines will be capable, within 20 years, of doing any work a man can do.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/stated-in-1965-machines-will-be-capable-within-20-years-of-doing-any/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [“Reason, then, goes to work only after it has been supplied with a suitable set of inputs, or premises. If reason is to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/reason-then-goes-to-work-only-after-it-has-been-supplied-with-a/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [The aim ... is to provide a clear and rigorous basis for determining when a causal ordering can be said to hold between two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/the-aim-is-to-provide-a-clear-and-rigorous-basis-for-determining-when/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its recipients. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/what-information-consumes-is-rather-obvious-it-consumes-the-attention/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) > [Most of us really aren't horribly unique. There are 6 billion of us. Put 'em all in one room and very few would stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-simon/most-of-us-really-aren-t-horribly-unique-there-are-6-billion-of-us/) [Herbert Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) [Explore all 43 Herbert Simon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-simon/) ## More Different values quotes > [“two genders and three classes: superior people, commoners and slaves. Members of each gender and class have different values. The life of a female…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/two-genders-and-three-classes-superior-people-commoners-and-slaves/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Saudi Arabia isn't just a conservative country with different values we shouldn't judge. It is a modern Gilead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-eltahawy/saudi-arabia-isn-t-just-a-conservative-country-with-different-values/) [Mona Eltahawy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-eltahawy/) > [Since we live in a society that promotes faddism and temporary superficial adaptation of different values, we are easily convinced that changes have occurred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/since-we-live-in-a-society-that-promotes-faddism-and-temporary/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [I asked myself, 'How are you going to change all these people, they have different values, different customs, different language, different interpretations?' So that’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/i-asked-myself-how-are-you-going-to-change-all-these-people-they-have/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [“I look forward to the day when our country will be a land of free expression: a country where the words of each citizen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-osnos/i-look-forward-to-the-day-when-our-country-will-be-a-land-of-free/) [Evan Osnos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-osnos/) > [I think in rural settings, people have a different appreciation for animals than might the city dweller. In parts of India where poisonous snake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-think-in-rural-settings-people-have-a-different-appreciation-for/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [You see Coach Nick Sirianni coming in preaching connection, accountability, competition, fundamentals and football IQ, preaching all these things. I know in all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jalen-hurts/you-see-coach-nick-sirianni-coming-in-preaching-connection/) [Jalen Hurts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jalen-hurts/) > [All of us assign different values to things, and not all of those values are going to line up with others'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/all-of-us-assign-different-values-to-things-and-not-all-of-those/) [Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/) > [“There are different kinds of birds and there are different situations and places to find these birds. Some of these birds choose to eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/there-are-different-kinds-of-birds-and-there-are-different-situations/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [My parents' work ethic amazed me. How could they put in such long hours, day after day? Part of the reason was to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-pekar/my-parents-work-ethic-amazed-me-how-could-they-put-in-such-long-hours/) [Harvey Pekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-pekar/) > [With everything you're letting go, I'm sure it's going to have a different value to you. And every time you let go you're going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mraz/with-everything-you-re-letting-go-i-m-sure-it-s-going-to-have-a/) [Jason Mraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mraz/) > [I learned that realism can come in all shapes and sizes. The world is big enough for different values to coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-learned-that-realism-can-come-in-all-shapes-and-sizes-the-world-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Pirates are evil? The Marines are righteous? These terms have always changed throughout the course of history! Kids who have never seen peace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donquixote-doflamingo/pirates-are-evil-the-marines-are-righteous-these-terms-have-always/) Donquixote Doflamingo > [Human beings are made up of many different values, and sometimes those values are in tension with each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mackey/human-beings-are-made-up-of-many-different-values-and-sometimes-those/) [John Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mackey/) > [Muslims, who have a completely different value system, come to the West, then they should accept that there are certain basic values in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/muslims-who-have-a-completely-different-value-system-come-to-the-west/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) [Browse all 48 Different values quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-values/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In the past half century, however, an impressive body of formal theory has been erected by mathematical statisticians and economists to help us reason about these matters-without introducing a new kind of logic. 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