Thursday, August 11, 2005
ceteris paribus
A long time ago, I took a first degree in Economics at the University of Bristol. Apart from explaining my tendency to waffle, and my desire to see theories backed up by evidence, it was where I first came across the latin ceteris paribus.
This phrase translates roughly 'all else the same' and is used in thought or math experiments by economists to imagine all other variables being artificially held constant in order to investigate the effect of a particular input variable on some complex system.
It cropped up again today in a discussion on the merits of linux vs windows as an underlying OS for Oracle databases. The problem of course is that all else isn't the same. It is extraordinarily rare these days to have two systems that are close enough to each other to compare let alone imagine that windows vs linux as an os represents a single discreet change.
2 Comments
This phrase translates roughly 'all else the same' and is used in thought or math experiments by economists to imagine all other variables being artificially held constant in order to investigate the effect of a particular input variable on some complex system.
It cropped up again today in a discussion on the merits of linux vs windows as an underlying OS for Oracle databases. The problem of course is that all else isn't the same. It is extraordinarily rare these days to have two systems that are close enough to each other to compare let alone imagine that windows vs linux as an os represents a single discreet change.
2 Comments:
"This phrase translates roughly 'all else the same' and is used in thought or math experiments by economists to imagine all other variables being artificially held constant in order to investigate the effect of a particular input variable on some complex system."
Not just economists, Niall. It's widely used in the engineering field as well. Any system (open or close) susceptible of being affected by a feedback loop needs the same effect.
Extremely relevant in software as well as a fundamental tennet of any serious scientific research in any field.
And extremelly hard to achieve in the software arena. The ubiquitous "it depends" is a clear indicator of its importance in the database field that we know and love.
Not just economists, Niall. It's widely used in the engineering field as well. Any system (open or close) susceptible of being affected by a feedback loop needs the same effect.
Extremely relevant in software as well as a fundamental tennet of any serious scientific research in any field.
And extremelly hard to achieve in the software arena. The ubiquitous "it depends" is a clear indicator of its importance in the database field that we know and love.
Tony Andrews points out that I write
a single discreet change, instead of a single discrete change.
He is obviously correct - though now I see it I rather like the typo. I can see it now. I'm going to replace your server OS and make your sysadmins redundant. But discreetly.
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a single discreet change, instead of a single discrete change.
He is obviously correct - though now I see it I rather like the typo. I can see it now. I'm going to replace your server OS and make your sysadmins redundant. But discreetly.
