Alfred Korzybski

Manhood of Humanity Alfred Korzybski

Book Excerpt: ...processes and activities, the quality and the form of human inter-relationship. Every human achievement, be it a scientific discovery, a picture, a statue, a temple, a home or a bridge, has to be conceived in the mind first--the plan thought out--before it can be made a reality, and when anything is to be attempted that involves any number of individuals--methods of coordination have to be considered--the methods which have proven to be the best suited for such undertakings are engineering methods--the engineering of an idea toward a complete realization. Every engineer has to know the materials with which he has to work and the natural laws of these materials, as discovered by observation and experiment and formulated by mathematics and mechanics; else he can not calculate the forces at his disposal; he can not compute the resistance of his materials; he can not determine the capacity and requirements of his power plant; in short, he can not make the most profitable use of his resour...