David Orrell Quotes

David John Orrell is a Canadian writer and mathematician. He received his doctorate in mathematics from the University of Oxford. His work in the prediction of complex systems such as the weather, genetics and the economy has been featured in New Scientist, the Financial Times, Adbusters, BBC Radio, Russia-1, and CBC TV. He now conducts research and writes in the areas of systems biology and economics, and runs a mathematical consultancy Systems Forecasting. He is the son of theatre historian and English professor John Orrell.

His books have been translated into over ten languages. Apollo's Arrow: The Science of Prediction and the Future of Everything was a national bestseller and finalist for the 2007 Canadian Science Writers' Award. Economyths: Ten Ways Economics Gets It Wrong was a finalist for the 2011 National Business Book Award. Wikipedia  

✵ 1962
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David Orrell: 26 quotes0 likes

Famous David Orrell Quotes

“A society in which each person is hell bent on maximizing his or her own utility, may therefore have declining overall utility.”

David Orrell

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 2, Odd Versus Even, p. 75

“Orthodox tools based on a normal distribution therefore fail exactly where they are most needed, at the extremes.”

David Orrell

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 7, Straight Versus Crooked, p. 223

David Orrell Quotes about money

“Money, having freed itself from the physical universe, has become number itself, and finance a strange form of mathematical alchemy.”

David Orrell

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 3, One Versus Plurality, p. 89

“There is something intrinsically upside down and counter-intuitive in the relationship between money and happiness.”

David Orrell

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 2, Odd Versus Even, p. 70

“Mathematics was not just about keeping track of were the moon was going, but also where the money was going.”

David Orrell

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 1, Limited Versus Unlimited, p. 30

“For even money itself has no value if there is no network of people to recognize it.”

David Orrell

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 3, One Versus Plurality, p. 88

David Orrell Quotes

“The economy is crooked not straight; and mainstream economists are like flat-earthers who keep saying the world is flat despite all the evidence to the contrary.”

David Orrell

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 7, Straight Versus Crooked, p. 228

“The neoclassical dogma of diminishing returns is completely wrong - success begets success and wealth begets wealth.”

David Orrell

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 9, Square Versus Oblong, p. 275

“To balance the economy, we need first to balance our priorities, and abandon rigid ideologies.”

David Orrell

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 10, Good Versus Evil, p. 313

“To build a genuinely sustainable economy, we need to recognize and embrace the dynamic nature of the world, and free ourselves from the dead holds of static dogma.”

David Orrell

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 6, At Rest Versus In Motion, p. 200

“Perfect order is boring, perfect randomness is boring, but complex systems are interesting.”

David Orrell

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 4, Right Versus Left, p. 131

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