A collection of abstract patterns
github.com
A collection of abstract patterns
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Re: A collection of abstract patterns
#2Upvoted and donated. Some concepts that could really help my day-to-day way of thinking.
Re: A collection of abstract patterns
#3> Controlled defects
> ...
> hpv vaccine: from a parent's perspective, it can admit that their kid needs to be protected from something that the parent prohibits; it's an admission of weakness of their authority
Interesting example. Could vaccines themselves be considered an example of controlled defects?
edit: I also notice the "Streisand effect" is listed here. If memory serves, that is about an attempt to forbid the distribution of a photo of her luxurious beachfront home—which thus became a much bigger story. But at first I thought it was about her declining any kind of rhinoplasty to avoid tampering with her voice (edit which is hearsay). Certainly there are many "corrective" surgeries which only call much more attention than the original "defect."
Re: A collection of abstract patterns
#4> Controlled defects > ... > hpv vaccine: from a parent's perspective, it can admit that their kid needs to be protected from something that the parent prohibits; it's an admission of weakness of their authority Interesting example. Could vaccines themselves be considered an example of controlled defects? edit : I also notice the "Streisand effect" is listed here. If memory serves, that is about an attempt to forbid…
That does indeed fit, using the interpretation that introducing a pathogen in a controlled manner has its own risks, but may prevent the relatively severe effects of an infection. I'll add it as an example in the next push.
Re: A collection of abstract patterns
#5These are fairly standard concepts for architects. Engineers deconstruct problems into implementations. Architects abstract problems into the rules that govern them. Both arrive in similar places, but usually for different reasons.
Re: A collection of abstract patterns
#6Yeah, but if you're a functional human being, you don't _need_ patterns.
Re: A collection of abstract patterns
#7These are fairly standard concepts for architects. Engineers deconstruct problems into implementations. Architects abstract problems into the rules that govern them. Both arrive in similar places, but usually for different reasons.
The dichotomy I usually use is between science and engineering. Science is about breaking systems down into components. Engineering is about composing components into systems. This project is very much on the science side of that. It doesn't propose any courses of action or anything. And yes, most of the concepts are pretty standard. The purpose of the project is to put them all out in the open so they can themselves be studied, and also so we can have a shared langauge about this sort of stuff.
Re: A collection of abstract patterns
#8Yeah, but if you're a functional human being, you don't _need_ patterns.
That's like saying you don't need math. For the most part, in everyday life, that's true, but there are cases where functional human beings disagree, or we find ourselves in novel situations that we don't know how to handle. In those cases, we need new ways to think and communicate. Intuition works great for catching a ball, but you'll need math to land a rocket on mars.
Re: A collection of abstract patterns
#9The first thing this reminds me of is http://tvtropes.org/. The subject matter may be a little different, but the idea is the same: cataloging and indexing conceptual information that is relevant to humans.
Re: A collection of abstract patterns
#10Yeah, but if you're a functional human being, you don't _need_ patterns.
Patterns are descriptors for how things relate, and arguably what makes someone smart or stupid is their ability to parse the dynamics of relationships among things.
There are a bunch of concepts from multiple disciplines that get used in companies every day. Some of them are stupid euphemisms used by managers who don't understand things, but a lot of them are about getting everyone to understand the importance of how one thing affects another.
Here are some:
- elasticity (of demand) - sunk cost - diminishing returns - scale - long poles - optionality - convexivity - long tail - fat tail - short position - indexing (over) - leverage - advantage - decisive power