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John Henry Holland Quotes

1929–2015 United States

John Henry Holland (2 February 1929 - 9 August 2015) was an American scientist and Professor of Psychology and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He was a pioneer in complex systems and nonlinear science.

United States
Academics
Computer scientists
Psychologists

Also known as: John Holland

Random John Henry Holland quote

19 quotes

Evolution continually innovates, but at each level it conserves the elements that are recombined to yield the innovations.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

Particular individuals do not recur, but their building blocks do.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

The measure of performance of any given agent is the amount of money it accumulates through its actions.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

This use of building blocks to generate internal models is a pervasive feature of complex adaptive systems.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

Unwrapping occurs when the "solution" is explicitly built into the program from the start.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

When a new building block is discovered, the result is usually a range of innovations.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

Even though these complex systems differ in detail, the question of coherence under change is the central enigma for each.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

The recycling of resource by the aggregate behavior of a diverse array of agents is much more than the sum of the individual actions.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

The multiplier effect is a major feature of networks and flows. It arises regardless of the particular nature of the resource, be it goods, money, or messages.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

If we are to understand the interactions of a large number of agents, we must first be able to describe the capabilities of individual agents.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

Looking back to data, we can see if the consequences are plausible; looking forward to theory, we can see if general principles are suggested.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

If there is to be a competition, there must be some basis for resolving it. It is also clear that the competition should be experienced based.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

There is more of a mystery to the origin of the pin factory that Adam Smith (1776) discusses in his Wealth of Nations than is generally realized.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

The end point, a cas simulation with a realistic interface, is highly desirable, because it enables an ecologist, or economist, or politician to try out alternatives that could not possibly tried in real systems.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

"nonlinear interactions almost always make the behavior of the aggregate more complicated than would be predicted by summing or averaging."

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

With theory, we can separate fundamental characteristics from fascinating idiosyncrasies and incidental features. Theory supplies landmarks and guideposts, and we begin to know what to observe and where to act.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

Model building is the art of selecting those aspects of a process that are relevant to the question being asked. As with any art, this selection is guided by taste, elegance, and metaphor; it is a matter of induction, rather than deduction. High science depends on this art.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

"Doing science," particularly the synthesis of disparate ideas, is not as arcane as it is often made out to be. Discipline and taste play a vital role, but the activity is familiar to anyone who has made some effort to be creative.

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

Not particularly, although my parents always encouraged me and supported my interest, from the first chemistry set they bought me

Hidden Order - How Adaptation Builds Complexity (1995)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: John Henry Holland (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.