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Comment by burpingtree

2 hours ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha...

You are misunderstanding the saying. It is entirely about unintended consequences and viewing the system for what it actually does and not any stated intentions of the designers.

2 comments

burpingtree

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aidenn0  2 hours ago

I will propose that you are wrong.

1. We must ignore the intentions of the designers (your claim), and instead see what the outcomes are

2. Therefore we should ignore Beer's intentions when designing the phrase POSWID, and instead see how it is used.

3. The overwhelming majority of people using it on the internet (including the GP comment) is to imply that the people perpetuating the system actually desire the outcome.

So the purpose of POSWID is clearly to imply intent.