My computer experiences have made me aware that people often have but a foggy idea of what they are saying.  Through translating thoughts into computer programs, I have learned many fog clearing techniques.  These techniques would have been impossible without the knowledge gained from computing, which is why so few of them are understood by older scientists ‑ and systems theorists. 

                                                                         ‑ Gerald Weinberg [1975, xii]

 If you do not have the programming experience you will likely find the above quote somewhat foggy.   If you do not write code I have an alternative for you.  Learn to translate your understanding of human and organization behavior into the language of the simulation models discussed in Chapter 9: Forecasting, Modeling, and Simulations and the examples of such models as presented in Section 3.  (Incidentally, writing computer programs is easier.) I guarantee you will discover that there is much fog in your understanding of how the human world works.  I am still working on my own fog clearing.

                We have chosen to develop a mathematical theory [re.  cultural transmission and evolution], and we are well aware of the serious disadvantages that result from this decision.  The necessary oversimplification is usually so great, especially in applications to human behavior, that there is often a danger of distortion.  Our position, however, is that a mathematical theory is always more precise than a verbal one, in that it must spell out precisely the variables and parameters involved, and the relations between them.  Theories couched in nonmathematical language may confound interactions and gloss over subtle differences in meaning.  They avoid the charge of oversimplification at the expense of ambiguity. 

                                                Cavalli-Sforza and Feldman [1981, v-vi]   

 I do not agree that mathematical theories necessarily result in over simplification.  When taking the first steps into a mathematical theory it will be as Thomas Edison once quipped to a woman who questioned the value of one of his inventions, “Madam, of what good is a newborn baby?” But wherever the mathematical route has been taken and given the opportunity to mature the value is undeniable.

 If you reason only with language you will err.  Language is ambiguous and always fuzzy in interpretation.  It must be or it would not serve its primary purpose.  The primary purpose of language is not to reason.  I will discuss the purpose of language in the Chapter, “A Theory of Human Behavior.”

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