Applications
Question your aesthetic judgments when evaluating systems. If something looks ugly or disorderly but works well, investigate why before changing it. The messiness might encode crucial information. Traditional practices, evolved systems, and organic growth often generate configurations that offend modern sensibilities yet perform better than designed alternatives.
Look for hidden order beneath apparent chaos. Use Frege's distinction between reference and meaning—what something refers to and what it actually means differ. Statistical truth and logical truth operate differently than psychological truth and experiential truth. Don't confuse different types of order or assume visible regularity indicates superior function.
Build evaluation systems that test performance rather than appearance. Aesthetic criteria work for art; functional criteria work for systems. Judge designs by outcomes, not by how they look. Create metrics that capture what matters rather than what's easy to measure. Resist the pull toward solutions that feel neat but don't actually work better.
Preserve local knowledge when implementing changes. Before standardizing or optimizing, understand what current practices accomplish. Interview people doing the work, observe how things actually function, and investigate why seemingly odd practices persist. The inefficiency you see might be crucial adaptation you don't understand. Change with humility about what you don't know.