Number Is Different From Quantity
Gregory Bateson,
Oikos,
May 12, 2009
A fascinating post. Which for me raises the discussion, in my head: a man said he wants evidence that the latest innovation works. With a wave of my hand, I told him to look at the happy faces, the pleased children, the productive adults. Yes, he said, that's all very nice. But I am interested in measuring these changes. Very well, I said. Just look at them. You can see them. N, he said, I need numbers. Ah, I said, Then you are not interested in measuring the changes, you are trying to find patterns in the changes, to take something you can see and to convert it (digitally) into something you can recognize. (As Wittgenstein often said, precision about the meaning of words usually dissolves disputes.)
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