The term "inverse consequences"
[ or the "Law of Inverse Consequences"][ refers to results that are the opposite of the expected results as initially intended or planned.][
"Chatham County Center: Green Thumb Prints Newsletter 2007
Index", NCSU.edu, May 2007, webpage:
]
NCSU-law
One consequence is in the "reverse predicament" of the other.[
]
History
The term "inverse consequences" has been in use for over 175 years (since at least 1835).[
''The Philosophy of Manufactures: Or, An Exposition''
(on factory systems), Andrew Ure, 1835,
page 434 of 480 pages, Google Books link:
]
booksGoogle-AU
states "the influence of which upon them will be manifested
by inverse consequences; the one being in the reverse
predicament of the other."
The term was also used by Auguste Comte
Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense ...
(1798–1857) in his book ''System of Positive Polity'' (published 1875), stating, "Inevitable increase in Complication, in proportion with the decrease of Generality, gives rise to two inverse consequences."
[
''System of Positive Polity: Social statics''
(on ]positivism
Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...
), Auguste Comte
Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense ...
,
1875, page 376, Google Books link (PDF 11.8mb):
books-Google-AC
states "inevitable increase in Complication in proportion
with the decrease of Generality, gives rise to two inverse
consequences."
Documented examples
The term "inverse consequences" has been applied in numerous situations, for example:
* In treatment of drug addiction, medications intended to reduce one type of addiction might trigger another addiction: long-term treatment with opiate
An opiate, in classical pharmacology, is a substance derived from opium. In more modern usage, the term ''opioid'' is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain (including antagonis ...
medications (such as morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...
) has ''inverse consequences''.[
"Neuron : Experimental Genetic Approaches to Addiction",
A. Laakso, 2002, webpage:
:
states "exposure to psychostimulants such as cocaine leads
to sensitized response; long-term treatment with opiates
(such as morphine) also has inverse consequences".
]
* In management of work tasks, a total sequential execution, of work tasks, has inverse consequences, such as a decrease of the workload with an increase of the lead time.[
"Managing and Organizing the Cooperation in Design Processes"
M. David, PDF file:
tp://ftp-sop.inria.fr/acacia/COOP2004/soumissions/coop2004-M.David-16.pdf Inria-fr-COOP2004-PDF
]
* In asset management
Asset management is a systematic approach to the governance and realization of value from the things that a group or entity is responsible for, over their whole life cycles. It may apply both to tangible assets (physical objects such as buildings ...
, plans for portfolio management might have inverse consequences to the potential benefits.[
"The Infinite Asset: Managing Brands to Build New Value"
(on business & economics), Sam Hill, Chris Lederer,
2001, 238 pages, ]Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...
link:
books-Google-SH
states "...managers must understand and anticipate
inverse consequences every bit as much as they preach
the potential benefits of their action plans."
Related phrases
The concept of "inverse consequences" has a corollary
In mathematics and logic, a corollary ( , ) is a theorem of less importance which can be readily deduced from a previous, more notable statement. A corollary could, for instance, be a proposition which is incidentally proved while proving another ...
in other phrases, as well:
* "the plan backfired
"Backfired" is the debut solo single from American singer and Blondie vocalist Debbie Harry. Released in 1981, it was taken from her debut solo studio album, ''KooKoo''.
Song information
"Backfired" peaked at number 32 in the UK, and number 43 ...
" - meaning the opposite result occurred, as in a gun firing backward, rather than forward.
See also
* Invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
* Regression testing
Notes
References
* Andrew Ure, ''The Philosophy of Manufactures: Or, An Exposition'' (on factory systems), 1835, page 434 of 480 pages, Google Books link
-->&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=21&ct=result booksGoogle-AU
Adages
Complex systems theory
Logic
Risk analysis
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