Since Michael, like me, has taken an interest in Gibbs, he and other
members of this list might be interested in another Gibbs quote that is
somewhat like a much better known thing:
"The whole is simpler than the sum of the parts". -- J. Willard Gibbs
If this puzzles you, remember that Gibbs largely invented physical
chemistry and thermodynamics (Boltzmann in Europe was a soul brother), and
recognized that every day in every way we deal with systems (in the Gibbs
sense) and think we understand them completely, when all we are really
doing is dealing with a very modest number of macro dimensions, deemed
adequate for purposes of everyday life.
On a more devilish note, I think this Gibbs' quote could be the slogan for
top management of companies, and much of what passes for systems thinking
these days could be justified by those people as having come from a very
respectable source (though there could be more here than meets the eye).
-- JOHN N. WARFIELD Johnwfield@aol.com