{"id":1755,"date":"2015-08-14T23:24:28","date_gmt":"2015-08-15T04:24:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/?p=1755"},"modified":"2015-08-14T23:24:28","modified_gmt":"2015-08-15T04:24:28","slug":"the-human-enterprise-and-measuring-the-parts-ctd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/2015\/08\/14\/the-human-enterprise-and-measuring-the-parts-ctd\/","title":{"rendered":"The Human Enterprise and Measuring the Parts, Ctd"},"content":{"rendered":"

A reader writes concerning American society<\/a>:<\/p>\n

WRT:\u00a0 The Human Enterprise and Measuring the Parts<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0About the broad definition of Excellence:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the measure of excellence is defined and shaped by those within each group, it is constantly in flux, just as the members of the group are constantly in flux.\u00a0 So really, how meaningful can this measurement be, over time?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think I would hope that excellence wouldn’t so much change direction or definition, as it were, as raise the bar defining excellence.\u00a0 This would definitely be true for those sectors involved in reality; so, for the (forgotten) health sector, the efficacy of the treatments would find the definition of excellence becoming more stringent, but not changing in basic definition: the treatment of the human creature towards relieving it of torment and extending its life.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is meaningful in that it permits us to compare the sectors of different cultures, presumably employing different operationalities, as to what is the better set of methods and metrics to adapt.<\/p>\n

Family sector: <\/strong><\/p>\n

On a broader scale, this would include all of your community.\u00a0 It\u2019s who you live with.\u00a0 It\u2019s who you learn your most important things from.\u00a0 Your family is who makes you into the person you are; those whose attitudes and beliefs seep into your pores and stay with you your entire life.\u00a0 Family teaches you who to be without you even knowing that you\u2019re learning to be part of the group.\u00a0 This is perhaps the most powerful of all the sectors discussed.<\/p>\n

The metric here should really be the security of the community, and excellence would be defined as a happy, harmonious group that is free to feed itself, reproduce and care for its young and elderly members without undue anxiety or difficulty.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I agree heartily, and would only add care for the disabled as well – at least for prosperous communities.<\/p>\n

Public sector:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Your definition states:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe metrics in this area include incidence of crime (although this may also be applicable to other sectors), recidivism rates, resolution rates, civil disturbance rates, standard public health measures\u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All of the aforementioned are closed loops:\u00a0 the group creates the law or standard, then measures the rates of infraction of those created laws within the same group.\u00a0 What keeps the group from writing laws solely to \u201cgame\u201d the system?\u00a0 If we write laws we know will be highly broken, then we are causing our metrics to reflect a high percentage of infraction.\u00a0 If we write laws that are nonsensical, unneeded or that no one would logically want<\/em> to break (i.e.–\u00a0 \u201cdo as you wish, regardless of consequence), then we measure a very low percentage of infraction.\u00a0 Either way, if those who make the laws also make the metrics to suit themselves, then the system is intrinsically flawed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An excellent and highly relevant point; I’m surprised that the concept of justice was not brought up, since that’s where I think a claim for objectivity<\/em> could be made.\u00a0 However, I am not necessarily thinking the sector is measuring itself; I could see this being the subject of an NGO or think-tank, or the dedicated individual, and would be an extremely involved piece of work, because certainly gaming of the system would occur.\u00a0 We’ve seen this recently in the attempts of bureaucrats at the Veteran’s Administration to game the system, sometimes through outright fraud<\/a>, sometimes in manipulating the system to meet goals of dubious merit.\u00a0 The application of the concept of justice might be the pivotal piece for developing meaningful metrics and definitions of excellence.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201c\u2026 and incidence of foreign invasions; whether measuring foreign adventuring <\/em>is relevant is problematic.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This last is a different animal altogether.\u00a0 It reaches outside of the group and attempts to enforce internal laws & standards on an external group.\u00a0 Never advisable, and usually doesn\u2019t end well for anyone.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The conclusion I was reaching myself, although it’s also difficult to defend the Isolationists<\/a> of bygone eras, as we are an interconnected system and must admit to influence from around the world.\u00a0 Still, there is a difference in the attempts to influence foreign affairs to better advantage your own society, and the more aggressive foreign adventuring.<\/p>\n

Private sector:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile it is tempting to use money as a metric – and often, it is, in the form of GNP, GDP, and allied metrics – the general economic health of a country is perhaps not entirely captured simply by these metrics, for the metric should also indicate the probable future indicated by various sub-measures…\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These metrics generally rely on averages or mean values.\u00a0 I would add a ratio of instance of poverty <\/em>to instance of obscene wealth<\/em> as well.\u00a0 Often, that\u2019s more telling than an average.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 Excellence: a prosperous citizenry is the traditional sentiment, and, if taken literally to mean everyone, it suffices for a statement.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Rather than prosperity in the traditional sense, I would say:\u00a0 health, comfort, security and personal happiness.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that what prosperity is supposed to buy?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Indeed!<\/p>\n

Educational sector:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe educational sector’s responsibility is straightforward.\u00a0 It should prepare students with facts and the ability to make reasoned judgments, and to this mission it should adhere to a study of reality; strictly religious sensibilities should be excluded as they are entirely subjective, and will lead to civil strife in a public setting.\u00a0 Philosophy, while subsumed under religion in some ways, is of educational interest since it asks important questions about reality and the study thereof\u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maybe that\u2019s what it should do, but since \u201cfacts\u201d are defined by the larger society and \u201ctruth\u201d is written by the socio-political victor, in reality, the educational sector of any society devolves into a device solely constructed to socialize its members.\u00a0 All \u201cfacts\u201d and \u201ctruths\u201d are subjective. \u00a0So whoever prevails within the society gets to define the truths of the day and then impose them on other members of the group.\u00a0 Of course, there are certain practical, mechanical \u201chow-to\u201d courses of study that may prove useful, but in modern societies, these courses of study are still riddled with general opinion and attempts at pure socialization into the general society.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I cannot agree that all facts and truths are defined by a larger society; at least in the physical sciences, a “fact” that fails to correlate with the underlying reality1<\/sup> will, sooner or later, will be exposed as a falsehood.\u00a0 Naturally, physical sciences are the easy subjects; more difficult are the social sciences, where facts become contingent on states of mentality, which are notoriously difficult to pin down in humans; and when we transition to the religious sector, a “fact” should be, yet rarely is, asserted with the greatest of trepidation: it is the most congruent with your assertion.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201c\u2026Metrics should cover the knowledge base and reasoning capabilities of students and citizens.<\/p>\n

Excellence is indicated by the continual progression in the efficiencies of everyday activities.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is also a closed loop.\u00a0 Those who define the \u201cfacts\u201d also define what\u2019s efficient and desirable in a society.<\/p>\n

Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I agree with your conclusion, so far as it goes.\u00a0 The defined factions are being treated as separate, but they truly cannot be separated.\u00a0 An individual within any society must deal with, and is influenced by, all these factions (and many sub-factions) in a very intricate tangle of imposed beliefs and social behaviors.\u00a0 That influence reaches into the deepest part of a person\u2019s psyche, until the individual ceases to realize that his core truths have been imposed upon him, and only knows that what he perceives his world to be is what it must be.\u00a0 Therein lies the difficulty of defining what \u201cis\u201d and what \u201cis not\u201d.\u00a0 But I guess that\u2019s a discussion for a different time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If I understand the thrust of the conclusion, I think what I began this thread to explore was just how to best understand these sectors (or factions) by definitions of goals and metrics – all totally ad hoc<\/em>, as per my usual intellectual methods2<\/sup>.\u00a0 An important element, totally neglected (for reasons of length and impatience), has to do with how these sectors are tangled together, involving questions of hierarchy, dependence, and fuzzy boundaries.<\/p>\n

And, of course, the health sector has been completely neglected, not even named!\u00a0 But an exploration of that sector is for another time and place.\u00a0 And, perhaps, writer.<\/p>\n

\n

1<\/sup>My apologies to quantum physicists who do not believe in an underlying, objective reality, but without the concept the very idea of science is rather laughable.
\n2<\/sup>Yes, in case the reader is wondering, my intellectual methods are usually rather laughable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A reader writes concerning American society: WRT:\u00a0 The Human Enterprise and Measuring the Parts \u00a0About the broad definition of Excellence: Since the measure of excellence is defined and shaped by those within each group, it is constantly in flux, just as the members of the group are constantly in flux.\u00a0 \u2026 Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1755"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1759,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1755\/revisions\/1759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/huewhite.com\/umb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}