“The success of these made me further think of improving it for finding the longitude; and the method”

— Robert Hooke

As quoted by John Ward, The lives of the professors of Gresham college (1740) p. 171. https://books.google.com/books?id=jp5bAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA171 <br class="br">Context: About this time, 1655, having an opportunity of acquainting myself with astronomy by the kindness of Dr. Ward, I apply'd myself to the improving of the pendulum for such observations, and in the year 1656, or 1657, I contriv'd a way to continue the motion of the pendulum, so much commended by Ricciolus in his Almagestum which Dr. Ward had recommended to me to peruse. I made some trials to this end, which I found to succeed to my wish. The success of these made me further think of improving it for finding the longitude; and the method I had made for myself for mechanick inventions, quickly led me to the use of springs, instead of gravity, for the making a body vibrate in any posture. Whereupon I did first in great, and afterwards in smaller modules, satisfy myself of the practicableness of such an invention; and hoping to have made great advantage thereby, I acquainted divers of my freinds, and particularly Mr. Boyle, that I was possessed of such an invention, and crav'd their assistance for improving the use of it to my advantage. Immediately after his majesty's restoration Mr. Boyle was pleased to acquaint the lord Brouncher and Sir with it, who advis'd me to get a patent for the invention, and propounded very probable ways of making considerable advantage by it. To induce them to a belief of my performance, I shewed a pocket watch, accommodated with a spring, apply'd to the arbor of the ballance, to regulate the motion thereof, concealing the way I had for finding the longitude. This was so well approv'd of, that Sir Robert Moray drew me up the form of a patent, the principal part whereof, viz. the description of the watch so regulated, is his own hand writing, which I have yet by me. The discouragement I met with in the management of this affair, made me desist for that time.

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Robert Hooke11

English natural philosopher, architect and polymath 1635–1703

Jasper Griffin (1937–2019) Public Orator and Professor of Classical Literature

The Oxford History of the Classical World (with John Boardman and Oswyn Murray, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986) P.5

“I would by no means attempt to infer from hence, that the longitude found by observations of this sort may in all cases be depended upon within one degree; but I beg leave to observe, that whatever extraordinary circumstances may have concurred to produce so near an agreement in this particular case, the event is such as may give reason to hope, however great the difficulties of finding the longitude by this method seem to be, that they are not insuperable, or such as ought to deter those whom it most nearly concerns from attempting to remove them.”

James Bradley (1693–1762) English astronomer; Astronomer Royal

Miscellaneous Works and Correspondence (1832), To Mr. Cleveland Secretary of the Admiralty (April 14, 1760)

“The day you think there is no improvements to be made is a sad one for any player.”

Lionel Messi (1987) Argentine association football player

“As Uchimaru sees things, an engineer who doesn't think TQM applies to technical activities must not understand either engineering or TQM or both. TQM is the application of the scientific method to business (pick an important problem, get the facts, analyze the facts, find the underlying truth, plan a method of improvement based on the underlying truth, systematically test it to verify that it works, standardize the new method, and then the cycle around again)”

Shoji Shiba (1930) Japanese academic

Shōji Shiba, New American TQM. Productivity press, 1993. p. 463
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“The evil arising from mental improvement can be corrected only by a still further progress in that very improvement.”

Anne Louise Germaine de Staël (1766–1817) Swiss author

The Influence of Literature upon Society (De la littérature considérée dans ses rapports avec les istitutions sociales, 1800) , Pt. 2, ch. 4
Context: The evil arising from mental improvement can be corrected only by a still further progress in that very improvement. Either morality is a fable, or the more enlightened we are, the more attached to it we become.

“Operations research '(OR) is the securing of improvement in social systems by means of scientific method”

C. West Churchman (1913–2004) American philosopher and systems scientist

C. West Churchman, "Operations research as a profession" (1970); cited in Arjang A. Assad, Saul I. Gass (2011) Profiles in Operations Research: Pioneers and Innovators. p. 181
1960s - 1970s