Tenets for the Business Scientist

These injunctions are offered for fun and for thought. They are not exhaustive nor entirely original being derived from: Twenty Science Attitudes
1. There is more to life than business

2. Be an empiricist.
   Look, see, define, model and explain. The world is all that is the case.

3. Investigate and query "cause-and-effect"
   What reactions are determined by actions? Do the events/actions really "determine"? What processes are random or chaotic?

4. Appreciate probability
   Correlation does not prove cause-and-effect.

5. Have empathy for people as people
   We can review our past, plan our future and "imagine" things. If we ignore empathy and value for human life, our "scientific" are exceedingly doubtful.

6. Respect numbers and measurement.
   Seek to define patterns in terms of "amounts" and quantified relationships - determinate, probabilistic and chaotic

7. Tolerance limits to knowledge
   World phenomena yield variable values. There is no absolute certainty.

8. Believe that business problems have solutions
   Do they? Always? Maybe the solutions are not easy ones- but what solutions are possible?

9. Value parsimony
   Look for simple explanation vs. the complex and indeterminate

10. Question, review and confirm
    An idea may be simple and observable but confirm it. Explore the possibility that the effects stem from other factors.

11. Healthy sceptism is fun and healthy
    Explore assumptions being made. Are they really true - in whole or in part?

12. Go for depth and precision
    Go beyond the populist and superficial. Be impatient with vague statements. Be exact and "picky". Dig deep.

13. The world is not the case, it is a paradigm
    Review the paradigm of ideas that underlie views on the working of "something". Are arguments waek because the paradigm is flawed or too restrictive?

14. Respect theoretical structures
    But check that theory bears a real relation to the world. Is it all right in theory but impracticable? Does the theory really explain? Does it lend itself to sound predictions.

15. Be willing to change your opinion.
    If your account of something (theory) does not fit hard evidence - then don't question your opinion and argument (the theory).

16. Have empathy for people as people
    We can review our past, plan our future and "imagine" things. If we ignore empathy and value for human life, our "scientific" are exceedingly doubtful.

17. Be loyal to reality.
    Don't be a dust bin converting to any new idea. Make sure your models match reality. Don't just hold to an opinion just because it is fashionable and convenient to do so.

18. Be wary of myth, superstition and your own psychic prison
    Cultivate a preference for scientific explanation. Question your own frustrations and jaundiced views of situations and people. We don't know everything and we often adopt views without understanding why. Question myths and appreciate the power of reality based knowledge.

19. Have a thirst for knowledge,
    Let your intellect drive you. Be addicted to solving puzzles. Look for bits of thje jigsaw that don't quite fit. Be willing to live with incompleteness. Inadequate explanations give indigestion.

20. Beware of premature judgment.
    Question and think before forming a strong opinion - why - because opinions are like rose tinted spectacles. Engage brain before opening mouth and search for then act on the best hypotheses available.

21. Castles made of sand
    Define terms. Build firm foundations. Be as logical as you can. Avoid propositions built on shakey ground and so broad that they apply to anything and nothing. Be specific about what you "know" and can say with reasonable certainty.

22. Substances vs dross
    Separate sound, principles and concepts from irrelevant and insubstantial dross. Avoid getting bogged down with more and more marginal data.