The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)
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The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)
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Re: The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)
#2A classic and well-deserved HN perennial.
Past discussions:
- 9 years ago, 120 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7409611>
- 5 years ago, 20 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17585104>
- 3 years ago, 19 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24728477>
- 7 years ago, 54 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11651406>
- 9 years ago, 15 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7762486>
- 6 years ago, 2 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15535834>
Re: The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)
#3I have often heard of this essay but never read it, because I thought I knew the basic idea. Reading it now, I see much more to it than the basic thesis in the title.
Re: The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)
#4There are relatively few things I've read that I can definitively point to as having almost instantly changed my mind on something. This is one of them. Reading often offers a broader understanding or different perspective, but seldom a sudden flash on insight.
Others short reads that have changed my mind in that way include:
- "The Inner Ring" by CS Lewis (https://www.lewissociety.org/innerring/)
- "On Photography" by Susan Sontag (https://www.amazon.com/Photography-Susan-Sontag/dp/031242009...)
- "Black Souls in White Skins?" by Steve Biko (as far as I can see only widely available as part of the Collection "I write what I like")
- "The Two Cultures" by CP Snow (https://sciencepolicy.colorado.edu/students/envs_5110/snow_1...) (This one is a lot like Freeman's in that many summaries seem to completely misunderstand the argument it is making, and many people assume it says something it doesn't).
- "Ironies of Automation" by Lisanne Bainbridge (https://ckrybus.com/static/papers/Bainbridge_1983_Automatica...)
- "Risk Management in a Dynamic Society" by Jens Rasmussen (http://sunnyday.mit.edu/16.863/rasmussen-safetyscience.pdf). If you read nothing else, check out Figure 3.
Re: The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)
#5There are relatively few things I've read that I can definitively point to as having almost instantly changed my mind on something. This is one of them. Reading often offers a broader understanding or different perspective, but seldom a sudden flash on insight. Others short reads that have changed my mind in that way include: - "The Inner Ring" by CS Lewis ( https://www.lewissociety.org/innerring/ ) - "On Photography…
Thanks so much for this list! I'm always on the prowl for things to read that changed how people see the world, but explicit attempts to solicit examples have proved surprisingly unsuccessful. And here you just volunteered it :)
Re: The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)
#6There are relatively few things I've read that I can definitively point to as having almost instantly changed my mind on something. This is one of them. Reading often offers a broader understanding or different perspective, but seldom a sudden flash on insight. Others short reads that have changed my mind in that way include: - "The Inner Ring" by CS Lewis ( https://www.lewissociety.org/innerring/ ) - "On Photography…
I would add “Meditations on Moloch” from Slate Star Codex.
Re: The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)
#7There are relatively few things I've read that I can definitively point to as having almost instantly changed my mind on something. This is one of them. Reading often offers a broader understanding or different perspective, but seldom a sudden flash on insight. Others short reads that have changed my mind in that way include: - "The Inner Ring" by CS Lewis ( https://www.lewissociety.org/innerring/ ) - "On Photography…
> - "The Inner Ring" by CS Lewis (https://www.lewissociety.org/innerring/)
CS Lewis predicted the impact of social media 50 years prior to its existence:
> And if in your spare time you consort simply with the people you like, you will again find that you have come unawares to a real inside: that you are indeed snug and safe at the centre of something which, seen from without, would look exactly like an Inner Ring.
Wisdom truly does transcend time and generations.
Re: The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)
#8I love this essay. Anna Weiner's book Uncanny Valley has a great line about it as well:
> "it's like no one even read 'The Tyranny of Structurelessness,'" said an engineer who had recently read The Tyranny of Structurelessness.
Re: The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)
#9This is one of my favorite articles that I heard about here. Someone shared it many years ago. I've been in many organizations like the ones described and things play out the same way. Recommended.
Re: The Tyranny of Structurelessness (1970)
#10This is for people who don't know why government exists and it's not purely oppression?