Like the Red Queen, we cannot stay where we are without running as fast as we can.
Meaning
Wiener borrowed Lewis Carroll's Red Queen to describe how fighting disorder takes constant effort. Skills, systems and relationships decay if left alone. Schedule a short regular slot, like twenty minutes weekly, to maintain one skill or tool you depend on.
Source: I Am a Mathematician (1956)
About the author
Norbert Wiener (1894–1964) was an American mathematician and philosopher at MIT who founded cybernetics, the study of communication and control in machines and living things. His books include Cybernetics (1948) and The Human Use of Human Beings (1950).
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