Attainment Quote by Kenneth E. Boulding
“Conventions of generality and mathematical elegance may be just as much barriers to the attainment and diffusion of knowledge as may contentment with particularity and literary vagueness... It may well be that the slovenly and literary borderland between economics and sociology will be the most fruitful building ground during the years to come and that mathematical economics will remain too flawless in its perfection to be very fruitful.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Limits of Economic Theory, 1970
Rigid adherence to abstract models can hinder knowledge spread just as much as overly vague narratives; interdisciplinary work between economics and sociology may be most productive.
In simple terms: Formal models can block insight; mixing fields helps.
Key Takeaway
Embrace interdisciplinary collaboration.
Themes
economics
interdisciplinarity
knowledge diffusion
modeling
literature
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
critical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- academic research
- policy analysis
- curriculum design
- collaborative projects
Key Concepts
Barriers
elegance
contentment
vagueness
flawless perfection
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we balance rigor with relevance?
- What interdisciplinary methods improve economic insight?
A Different Perspective
Too much abstraction may ignore real-world complexity.
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![“[The question for the behavioral disciplines is simply] what is better, and how do we get there?” quote by Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/50a/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_discipline_the-question-for-the-behavioral-discipli_272939.jpg)
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