Business Quote by Ludwig Lachmann
““Both, business expectation and scientific hypothesis serve the same purpose; both reflect an attempt at cognition and orientation in an imperfectly known world, both embody imperfect knowledge to be tested and improved by later experience. Each expectation does not stand by itself but is the cumulative result of a series of former expectations which have been revised in the light of later experience, and these past revisions are the source of whatever present knowledge we have””
About This Quote
Source Book: Economics and Knowledge, Ludwig Lachmann, 1975
Expectations and hypotheses are provisional models we refine through experience, building on past revisions to improve understanding of an uncertain world.
In simple terms: Ideas are tested and updated over time.
Key Takeaway
Continuously revise your assumptions.
Themes
knowledge
expectations
science
business
learning
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
philosophical
practical
When to use this quote
- strategic planning
- research projects
- product development
- policy making
Key Concepts
epistemology
incremental improvement
feedback loops
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you incorporate feedback into your decisions?
- What mechanisms ensure revisions are objective?
A Different Perspective
Assumptions may be biased or incomplete, limiting predictions.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)