George Richardson wrote:
> I recall hearing one of the authors of "Mankind at the Turning Point" by
> Mesarovic and Pestel (a book published by the Club of Rome after "Limits
> to Growth") claim the same theorem mentioned in this query. Mr. Winston
> may find a reference in that book to the theorem and its source(s).
...and I replied ...
> I have been hoping one of our group would pursue this. Has anyone tried to
> track down the theory via this route? I have a copy of the book, but Im in
> the middle of a major office remodeling (self inflicted stress added to the
> holiday season!) and the book is packed away in one of 50 or so boxes stacked
> in my sunroom.
>
> If I ever get this little construction project under control, Ill take a
> look--unless someone already has ...
>
Well, I scanned it (first read in 1974 ... has it been that
long?!?) and cant find direct references to such a theory, but find
many instances of the archetypal "Tragedy of the Commons" wherein
success for one eventually escalates into competitive activity that
depletes finite resources ... kind of like optimizing the individual
success while suboptimizing (dooming, actually) the system as a whole.
Im certainly open to other interpretations, or a more careful scan ...
Steve
--
Stephen B. Wehrenberg, Ph.D.
Chief, Forecasts and Systems, US Coast Guard;
Administrative Sciences, The George Washington University
wstephen@erols.com
"Life is a jam session."
Suboptimizing the system as a whole
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