Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to solve other problems

QUOTE:

Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to solve other problems.

Rene Descartes
French mathematician & philosopher (1596 - 1650)
Source: The Quotations Page

Got this from new hire at Enterra (former Lead Architect of the Director of National Intelligence's Chief Information Office(r), meaning yes, now "Neo" and the "Architect" work on the same team--and if you don't get that reference, then search the blog). It is a way cool quote that speaks to my underlying logic on globalization to a T.

My thanks to Bryan. Enterra is ecstatic to have landed someone of Mr. Aucoin's incredible talents.

Comments

[Louis Heberlein]

Beware over simplified habit solutions. That's often Ideology. Destutt-Tracey wrote about how Ideology emerged during the French Revolution to inform and motivate a largely uneducated population.

Napoleon felt that "true wisdom does not lie in mere practice without principle." Unfortunately, he then exploited his insight rather than enlighten his people.

Adams and Jefferson monitored the development of the French Revolutution and emergence of Napoleon, and contrasted it to the American experience.

Ideology can help us avoid wasting time reinventing solutions, but the situation should be studied first. Plumbers will always want to use wrenches, and carpenters will always want to use hammers. We need both to build and maintain a house, but used in appropriate situations.

And don't forget the senior staff officers who want to fight the new war the same way they fought their last war.

Hang in there!Lou

[Rick Jones]

I majored in mathematics and philosophy (logic) as a college undergraduate, and then became a career Naval Special Warfare officer.

From the point of view of mathematics and logic, I completely agree with Mssr. Descartes. In mathematics and logic, one very common problem-solving technique is to restate a problem in the form of a problem that has already been solved. The common term is to "reduce it" to a problem that has already been solved. And at that point, of course, the new problem is basically solved.

As a former Naval officer, however, I could not disagree more. When you get away from the pristine, enduring edifices of mathematics and logic, and wade into the messy, illogical, shifting world of human affairs, it's not nearly as applicable. In human affairs, I think it is much more prudent to realize that the solution to every problem actually plants the seeds to a future problem. And in fact, when I was on active duty, my own motto was always, "Today's solution is tomorrow's problem."

Again and again and again on active duty I implored those around me to consider what problems would be created down the pike by today's solution. Because -- as Jack Crabb might say -- as surely as the wind blows, the grass grows, and the sky is blue...every solution to every problem in human affairs will eventually morph into still another problem. One classic example is Social Security.

As long as you understand this, and consider it, fine. But to think that the solution to a problem in human affairs is anything more than just a temporary bandaid on a perpetually bleeding wound is, in my experience, a huge mistake.

And specifically, I think that in considering things like globalization, we must be continually looking two and three steps ahead and asking ourselves, "What problems are we possibly creating down the pike with today's solutions?" Because we surely are doing just that.