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sockpuppet2  1yr ago (astralcodexten.com)   4049 thread views

Scott: Come On, Obviously The Purpose Of A System Is Not What It Does

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This made me reflect that I hadn't actually thought critically about the phrase (at least, commensurate to how often it's used). For fun, if you think the purpose of a system is what it does, write what you think that means, before reading Scott's critique, then write if you've updated your opinion. For example: I think it's a useful way of re-framing obviously dysfunctional systems, so as to analyze their dysfunction, but Scott is persuasive that it's not a good means of understanding systems, in general, so people should be more cautious about adopting this framing and using the phrase, rhetorically.

(Spoilers go between two sets of "||")

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Scott: "The phrase 'the purpose of a system is what it does' is dumb, you can't just judge the purpose of a system based on one or more of its outputs."

Everyone: "Obviously people are misusing this phrase, you have to look at the original context of what the person who coined it meant."

Scott: ahem

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