In a message dated 95-10-18 22:33:47 EDT, Michael McMaster writes
regarding "working backward" and my comments about Henry Gantt's (and
others') views about working backward from the desired result or end state
instead of forward from current conditions:
>Did you know
>that Heraclitus had the idea a few thousand years before your source?
No, I didn't. Would you mind citing it for me so I can check it out?
And, just to be precise, I didn't name a single source, I cited a couple
of them as illustrative of earlier views on the same general concept.
The earliest documented source of the idea of "working" (and "thinking")
backward of which I am aware is the Greek mathematician Pappus (c. 300
AD). Polya, a noted mathematician in his own right, and author of "How to
Solve It" (1945), quotes Pappus as follows:
"Inquire from what antecedent the desired result could be achieved."
-- Fred Nickols nickols@aol.com