NancyLebovitz comments on Rationality Quotes 23 - Less Wrong

5 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 10 January 2009 12:12AM

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Comment author: NancyLebovitz 12 January 2009 01:50:36PM 0 points [-]

http://www.systems-thinking.org/columbo/columbo.htm

Complex System Rules of Thumb

* Everything is connected to everything else. * You can never do just one thing. * There is no "away." * There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. * Nature knows best. * If ain't what you don't know that hurts you; it's what you DO know that ain't so. * "Obvious solutions" do more harm than good. * Look for high leverage points. * Nothing grows forever. * Don't fight positive feedback; support negative feedback instead. * Don't try to control the players, just change the rules. * Don't make rules that can't be enforced. * There are no simple solutions. * Good intentions are not enough. * High morality depends on accurate prophecy. * If you can't make people self-sufficient, your aid does more harm than good. * There are no final answers. * Every solution creates new problems. * Loose systems are often better. * Don't be fooled by system cycles. * Remember the Golden Mean. * Beware the empty compromise. * Don't be a boiled frog. * Watch our for thresholds. * Competition is often cooperation in disguise. * Bad boundaries make bad governments. * Beware the Tragedy of the Commons. * Foresight always wins in the long run.